Direction signs to pubs
QI want to put up a sign at the end of the road to direct people to the pub. I have the landowner's permission to do this, but I have been told that it may, in fact, be illegal, unless it is on a moveable vehicle.
A The issue of advertising signs varies greatly from area to area. In some places, it seems, anything goes; in others, you have to fight all the way for a small direction indicator.
From the legal point of view, however, there are two issues raised by the positioning of such signs. One is obstruction of the highway, which can be a criminal offence and would, therefore, involve police action. The other, more common, problem is that of local authority planning permission for the erection of the sign.
Local authorities have power to control not only the types of buildings that are erected or changed, but also the signs, notices and illuminations that are used on the exterior of the premises and on the highway or adjacent to it.
Public houses are among the businesses which need to attract passing trade, but several of them have run into trouble by erecting signs without first obtaining the necessary planning permission. Local authorities do have the power of veto in this area, and can forbid the erection of signs that they consider an obstruction or potentially hazardous or a distraction, or order their removal if a sign has been erected without consent.
Non-compliance with a council instruction could render the offender liable to court action and in the case of signs, notices and equipment such as satellite dishes, a fine can be imposed for each day that the offending article remains in place. You should certainly make careful enquiries before going ahead.
Lingering in the garden
Q We have had a visit from the police following a complaint about people in our pub garden. We close at 3pm on weekdays but someone has said that people were still drinking at 4pm in the garden. The police say we should get them to leave, but what is the law? Is there a drinking-up time that we must enforce?
A If the police are concerned about this, it is likely that they have some public order problem in mind. But the so-called "rule" that you ask about has no actual basis in law, even at the end of permitted hours.
There is nothing in the Licensing Act requiring customers to leave licensed premises at any time of the day. Certainly, a period of 20 minutes is mentioned in the Act, but it is a reference to the period of grace after the end of the statutory permitted hours for drinking up. It does not apply in the afternoon.
Your afternoon "closing" is entirely up to you, and you may vary it at will. Because it is still within the permitted hours, the police have no right to enforce a specific drinking up period at this time and certainly no right to order you to clear the garden within a specified time, unless they suspect or fear that public disorder or some form of offence is about to be committed.
Where persons are just sitting and enjoying the sunshine or the scenery, there is no obligation for you to move them on, and no requirement that you should lock and bar your doors against all-comers outside the permitted hours.
Second Appointed Day
Q Has the Second Appointed Day been appointed yet?
ANo. The original plan was that the new system should start some time in November, and 7 November was often quoted as being exactly three months after the end of the transition period. However, the date is not fixed by statute and it is, therefore, entirely up to the minister to decide, on advice, whether the new system can start then. We shall just have to wait and see.
