New Year opening 'left out' of reform
Licensees will have to apply for longer opening hours on New Year's Eve when the new Licensing Act is implemented in 2005.
This is despite last year's assurances from the government, which claimed that all licensees would be able to extend their hours for every New Year's Eve.
Last year the government pushed through legislation that meant pubs could open continuously for 36 hours over New Year's Eve 2002 and every subsequent year.
Licensees are being warned they will need to put their planned New Year opening hours on the operating plans they need to fill out under the new licensing regime.
Martin Rawlings, director of pub and leisure at the British Beer and Pub Association, said: "How the legislation got lost goodness knows. What it means is current licensees will have to 'grandfather' the hours over. In other words they have to make it a provision in their new operating plan."
But licensees who have never opened late on New Year's Eve, or for new premises, will no longer have the automatic right to extend their hours.
Tony Payne, of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, said: "Someone coming into the trade would have to apply for this in their operating schedule. New Year is guaranteed under the new regime for existing licensees but if residents, police or the fire brigade object to a new application it could be refused."
Deborah McCullum, from The Publican's legal team at Joelson Wilson, said: "The safest thing to do is put your hours in your operating plan. If you don't you could apply for a variation on your premises licence but goodness knows how long that would take."
A spokeswoman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "The Licensing Act puts an end to the whole system of permitted hours, so exemptions from them will be unnecessary when it comes into effect.
"However, under the grandfather rights provisions current licence holders will retain their current hours including the extension for New Year's Eve.
"Under the new system, new licence applicants will be able to apply for any hours they wish on any night of the year."
