Licensed premises need to take advantage while the sun is shining but when doing so consider the following:
- Check you have both on and off-sales on your licence. It may sound ridiculous but there are still some licensed premises that only have permission to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises
- Check the conditions on your Premises Licence because while you may have permission to sell alcohol for consumption off your premises, there may still be conditions that in some way restrict the sale of alcohol such as no drinks being sold in open containers
- If you do have such a restriction, if your outside area is still shown on the plan that is attached to your Premises Licence, you will still be fine because that area still constitutes part of the premises where alcohol is being sold for consumption on those premises
- If you do find you have such a condition on your Premises Licence preventing the sale or restricting the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises, you may need to look at submitting a variation to your Premises Licence, which many Licensing Authorities should accept as a minor variation taking two to three weeks as opposed to a full variation taking four to eight weeks
- If you want an outside bar make sure the area where it is going to be placed is licensed under your Premises Licence. Usually, the area that is licensed is shown on a plan attached to your Premises Licence. However, many Premises Licences are missing such a plan because the Licensing Authority have not attached them and if this is the case, to be on the safe side, you should ask the Licensing Authority for a copy. If you want to sell alcohol from an outside bar and it is not in a licensed area then, again, you would need to apply to vary your Premises Licence, which will almost certainly be by way of a full variation taking four to eight weeks
- If your outside area is licensed, and you are simply installing a mobile bar, then no further permission will be required. Even a fixed bar would only require permission if it in some way impedes access or egress to and from the premises
- If you want additional seating outside, then if you own the land or it is part of your lease then you do not need to approach the Licensing Authority. If leased, you simply need to ask your landlord’s permission to use a larger area for tables and chairs
- If you do not own the land and it is not part of the land your Landlord has leased to you but forms part of the public highway, then you will need to submit an application for a Pavement Licence to the Local Authority. A Pavement Licence application can take up to four weeks for the Local Authority to process, and so it is worthwhile considering doing this now. Most Local Authorities do have guidelines about the amount of pavement width which must still be capable of being used by the public after tables and chairs are placed there
- Always consider how the use of your outside area may impact upon your neighbours. There are many examples of licensing reviews having been brought by local residents because of noise nuisance caused by outside drinkers. Consider whether you should voluntarily restrict any numbers in outside areas or the time that they are used. You will find the Local Authority will restrict these in any Pavement Licence and you may find that there is a condition on your Premises Licence restricting their use but, if you have neighbours nearby, you may want to consider a voluntary restriction in any event
- If you do receive any complaints from neighbours, don’t ignore them - liaise with them, open dialogue and work together to enjoy a neighbourly summer
Jonathan Smith is a partner at Poppleston Allen
