Premises Licences

A premises licence is granted to authorise the premises to be used for licensable activities.

Licensable activities

The following are examples of licensable activities:

• sale or supply of alcohol
• provision of regulated entertainment such as plays, films, indoor sporting events, boxing or wrestling, music and dancing or entertainment
• provision of late night refreshment (this means the supply of hot food or drink to the public, for consumption on or off the premises, between 11pm and 5am)

The activities permitted at a premises are given in its Operating Schedule. See below for more details.

Premises must meet certain standards to be granted a premises licence. You can find details of these standards in the council’s Licensing Policy, which is downloadable by clicking the relevant link at the bottom of this page.

Who can apply?

You can apply for a premises licence if you are:

• a person who runs, or proposes to run, a business that will involve the use of that premises for licensable activities
• a recognised club
• a charity
• the proprietor of an educational institution
• a health service body
• a person registered by part two of the Care Standards Act 2000, in respect of an independent hospital
• a chief police officer

All applicants must be 18 years of age or over. Licences are granted to applicants on a permanent basis, but are subject to review where evidence exists that any of the licensing objectives are being compromised.

Operating Schedule

All applications for premises licences will need to include an Operating Schedule. This document should outline what licensable activities are proposed, and how the licence holder will ensure the licensing objectives are met. Guidance on how to complete an operating schedule is given in the Licensing Objectives Guidelines document, available by clicking the relevant link below.

You can download further information and application forms using the links below.