Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2013 | Page 144
Legal Issues with Roach Pittis Solicitors
By Lee Peckham
Alcohol and
entertainment licensing
The Police Reform and Social
Responsibility Act 2011 brought
substantial amendments to Licensing
Law and reform of the Licensing Act
2003. There were fears that several of
the changes would lead to flood gates
of objections to licence applications,
but this has not necessarily been the
case in practise.
The two changes which were the
principal basis for the “flood gates”
argument are:
• The removal of the vicinity test: the
2011 Act removed both the terms
‘interested parties’ and ‘vicinity of the
premises’ from the 2003 Licensing
Act. In theory therefore, a person
in Liverpool can now object to an
application for a Premises Licence in
the Isle of Wight.
• The lowering of the evidential
threshold: Licensing Authorities can
now attach conditions to a licence
that are “appropriate” as opposed to
the higher evidential threshold of
‘necessary’. On the face of it this gives
the Licensing Authority far greater
discretion when deciding whether to
impose conditions, which may have
the potential to severely restrict the
activities of the business concerned.
The reality of the situation however
is that any objection to the licence
application must be appropriate for
the promotion of the four licensing
objectives (which are: prevention of
crime and disorder, public safety, the
prevention of public nuisance, and the
protection of children from harm) and
they cannot be frivolous or vexatious.
As a result of these inbuilt
protections, it is our experience that
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the effect of the changes to the law has
not been as significant upon licensing
practice as was predicted.
If you find yourself requiring
any advice relating to licensing,
whether ranging from alcohol and
entertainment licensing to taxi or
firearms, our specialist department at
Roach Pittis will be pleased to discuss
your matter with you.
Email [email protected]
Visit www.roachpittis.co.uk/licensing
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Roach Pittis Solicitors
60-66 Lugley Street,
Newport PO30 5EU
01983 524431
Email: [email protected]
www.roachpittis.co.uk