Late licence milestone as venue is granted 12.30am Sunday extension
Bakersfield Entertainment's Mood Café and Bistro in Carlisle has become one of the first venues to be given one of the government's new Special Hours Certificates allowing pubs to serve alcohol until 12.30am on a Sunday.
Its successful application came almost immediately after the government's recent deregulation order, which came into force two weeks ago and allows restaurants, pubs, bars and nightclubs in possession of a Special Hours Certificate to an extension of Sunday opening hours.
Licensing expert Tony Lyons, a partner with Addleshaw, Booth and Co, led the landmark application on behalf of Bakersfield.
He said: "I am delighted with the successful outcome of this application, which forms a hugely significant milestone in the development of the country's licensing laws.
For a number of years licensees in England have looked towards a relaxation of the laws regulating Sunday opening hours and I'm sure this application will be the first of many as bars, restaurants and nightclubs take advantage of the commercial rewards offered by late-night Sunday opening."
Under the new deregulation order allowing the sale of alcohol on Sundays the licensing justices are required to consider the special nature of Sunday before reaching a decision on whether to grant or vary a Special Hours Certificate to allow the sale of alcohol late at night on Sundays.
The latest time alcohol can be sold under the new certificate is restricted to 12.30pm or 2am preceding a bank holiday - except Easter Sunday. Licensing justices have the power to exclude Sundays from a Special Hours Certificate on the grounds of disturbance outside premises as a result of its use.
