Legal Q&A: The Cricket World Cup and extension of hours
Is it cricket?
Q: My pub is getting increasingly popular with cricket fans and I am looking at showing some of the Cricket World Cup live outside this summer in my garden. I’ve got the required TV and Sky licences, although I know that showing live sports doesn’t require a premises licence, from a licensing point of view are there specific checks I should make?
A: It seems you have the required licences in place to show the live cricket matches. From a premises licence point of view, although showing of live TV is not a licensable activity, it is important to check your existing permissions to ensure there are no conditions that restrict how you wish to operate the garden.
For example, check to see if the garden is licensed for alcohol sales on your licensing plans or, if not, make sure you have permission for ‘off-sales’ as well as ‘on-sales’ to allow customers to consume drinks outside, and that there are no restrictions as to customers using the external area such as time limits, capacity, the requirement of waiter/waitress service and use of polycarbonates, toughened glass or other specific types of drinking vessels in external areas. Finally, be mindful that if your customers attend in numbers and become loud then there is a risk of disturbing your neighbours and complaints being made either to you or to the local authority – even with cricket fans. A risk assessment and appropriate measures to prevent this should be considered.
Extension of hours
Q: With late May bank holiday on the way, and given the great summer we had last year, I would like to make the most of that weekend. I have reviewed my premises licence and it does not allow me to trade beyond midnight Friday to Monday and, ideally, I would like to trade later over the whole bank holiday weekend. I know I can submit a variation of my premises licence to extend my hours permanently but any application won’t be granted in time for this bank holiday – are there any other options?
A: It is worth checking the terms of your premises licence as, although you may not have standard hours beyond midnight on Friday to Monday generally, there may be additional permissions, called non-standard timings on your licence that may permit you to trade later over the bank holiday weekend.
If you do not have any relevant non-standard timings on your premises licence for you to trade later on such notable days, or you do have later hours on notable days but there are restrictive conditions that prevent you from operating how you would like to. You are right in that there is the option for you to permanently amend this by applying for a variation of your premises licence. However, due to the 28-day consultation period, the day after the application is submitted to the licensing authority, if the application is granted it would be after the late May bank holiday.
However, there may be a ‘temporary fix’. You can lodge a (standard or late) temporary event notice (TEN) to effectively temporarily extend your trading hours over that bank holiday weekend.
A TEN needs to be submitted to the licensing authority, police, and environmental health department (or the licensing authority only if you are using the online service, as they then serve the other authorities).
A standard TEN needs to be received 10 clear working days prior to the date of the event and a late TEN at least five clear working days (but no more than nine working days) before the date of the event.
There are relevant restrictions involved and it would be prudent to seek legal advice or speak with your local licensing authority officer prior to submitting a TEN if in any doubt.
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