Left in licence limbo as D-Day draws near

It may interest you to note that today is exactly two months after the official end of the transition period, and I am sure every one of you is sitting there cuddling your new premises licence.

Aren't you?

Well, there's a surprise. Officially, every grandfather should have his rights by now, as long as he applied in time - but it simply hasn't happened.

So where do we go from here?

This is where the scenario gets a bit fuzzy. Many people have already been told by letter or phone that their premises licence has been granted, but they haven't actually received the paperwork yet. Others are aware there have been no objections raised, but have not received confirmation.

A considerable number of licensees know there have been representations but have not yet had a date set for a hearing. The trouble is, after today there is technically no chance of a decision being reached by the council.

According to the Act, if after two months the applications which you put in have not been 'determined' (ie, there has not been a grant or a refusal), two specific things happen:

1. Part A, the conversion, is deemed to be granted;

2. Part B, the variation, is deemed to be refused.

If you only applied for Part A conversion, of course, you are sitting pretty. The lack of any paperwork is not a cause for concern, as long as you have at some stage confirmed that the application was properly lodged.

The licence has come into being automatically, and at some stage in the future you will receive confirmation of your licence. Obviously, if you do not have anything by the beginning of November, you should contact your licensing officer and make inquiries. But come 24 November you can continue to operate in more or less the same way, with a couple of minor adjustments, which I shall write about over the next few weeks.

There are a number of applicants who have lodged variation applications, received representations from responsible authorities and reached a compromise on conditions.

The representations have been withdrawn as a result. This means the licensing authority MUST grant the variation, but if they have not done so by today, officially it should be treated as refused. However, in these circumstances I understand many authorities are issuing 'late' licences, probably back-dated to within the two-month limit, to save everyone time and trouble.

The real problems occur with those who have lodged a conversion and variation application and have been made aware of representations, but nothing has been done.

Because there are representations from neighbours, which have not been compromised, the applicant must pursue the matter by appealing to the magistrates. As this is a technical issue, it is advisable to use a solicitor to do this, which will mean extra expense not necessarily claimable as costs against the authority, if the magistrates consider that they acted honestly and fairly. This in itself is an extra penalty against the licensed trade.

Where the authority has failed to hold a hearing, there is power for the magistrates to have what is called a 'pre-trial review' and send the matter back to the licensing authority for determination. In cases where the authority has simply failed to issue the licence, in the absence of objections, the magistrates can simply grant it themselves.

All this means there is still a huge amount of activity going on, to ensure licences are in place by the Second Appointed Day. It will not be easy, and there is no guarantee everything will be settled in time for that looming November date.