A premises licence gives a single location the legal right to sell alcohol on a permanent basis. It’s an essential requirement for pubs, bars, or any business that plans to sell alcohol to be consumed on-site. It’s also mandatory for events over a certain size, or under particular circumstances.
A Temporary Event Notice (TEN) is often called an ‘event licence’. When granted by the local council where you plan to host a one-off event, it gives you the legal right to undertake what’s known as a ‘licensable activity’. That includes selling alcohol, serving hot food and drink between 11pm and 5am, and providing entertainment such as music or dancing – but only under certain conditions.
Wondering where to start? Getting the right event licence is easy with a bit of planning. Keep reading to discover which licence you’re likely to need.
Table of contents
Do I need a licence to hold an event?
Do I need a licence to hold an event?
The short answer is usually yes – especially if the sale of alcohol is involved. Which licence you’ll need depends on the details of your event, for example, where it’s taking place, how many people will be attending, and who’s involved in the organisation process.
What licence will I need to sell alcohol?
Selling alcohol or providing live and/or recorded music to more than 500 people after 11pm is a licensable activity, and you’ll almost certainly need a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003.
For alcohol, you’ll need a Designated Premises Supervisor who holds a Personal Licence, and you’ll have to complete an application form and detailed layout plans.
How to submit a premises licence application
You can send this application by post to the Licensing Authority with eight other “Responsible Authorities”. Or, you can send it via the Licensing Authority’s electronic facility – if they have one, and most do – and the Licensing Authority will send it on for you. This saves you postal and printing costs. It also saves time checking that the addresses for these authorities are up to date and you’ve served them correctly.
How long does it take to be granted a premises licence?
If there are no objections to your application, it should be granted after 28 days. If there are objections, you would typically expect to have a hearing within two months of initially issuing the application. That’s the typical process for small, regular, or straightforward events.
What if I’m planning a festival or big outdoor event?
If you’re planning on hosting a new festival or large outdoor event in June and think you can issue your application at the end of March/beginning of April, you probably need to think again. Be sure to allow more time for larger-scale events.
Pre-application consultation
Most councils have Safety Advisory Groups (“SAGs”), which are non-statutory bodies made up of relevant agencies to help you run a safe event – that isn’t incredibly noisy and doesn’t block local streets or country lanes.
Many authorities like to be contacted at least a year to six months before a new event to provide this important advice. While they are by their very name “advisory”, some responsible authorities (the police, environmental health, health & safety, and licensing, for example) have the power, if necessary and justified, to prevent your event from going ahead. They can also impose terms that are not commercially viable for you. So, consult them early and listen to their advice – they need to be sure you know what you’re talking about.
Location
Festivals and outdoor events are often on greenfield sites, which do not always have an obvious perimeter. When you make your licensing application, ensure your layout plans delineate this clearly. This has a legal effect regarding sales of alcohol and whether these are on or off the premises. It also affects capacity limits and the general requirement that everybody must know exactly where your festival is taking place.
Campsites and car parking areas
Are you going to show campsites and car parking areas on the plans? If people buy drinks and take them back to their tents, but the campsite isn’t shown on the plans, then you will need to be authorised for “off-sales” of alcohol.
Noise concerns
Is your proposed location likely to cause noise issues with local residents? Think through where the stages will be, which direction the speakers will face, and the general lie of the land. Engage residents early and explain your proposals.
The landowner
Some landowners – stately homeowners, farmers, etc. – have tapped into the lucrative festival market. Find out if your landowner already has a premises licence you can use.
Can you use a landowner’s existing licence?
Is it suitable for your purposes, or are there conditions or limits on hours of operation that you don’t like? The landowner may not even let you use their licence. Typically for fear that you – having a “one-off” event – will not respect the terms of that licence, cause disruption, and then move on to another location for the next year, leaving them to defend a licence review. Many, in these circumstances, will expect you to obtain your own premises licence.
Check the licence details carefully
Whether you use your licence or the landowner’s, check it and your contract with a fine-tooth comb. If the Environmental Health Officer steps in a month before the event, saying it can’t go ahead with the decibel levels you’ve proposed, they will likely issue an anticipatory Noise Abatement Notice that may scupper your event. Who will be liable to pay for cancellation fees/refunds in any resulting litigation between you and the landowner?
Clear any specific restrictions that might apply to the site
Some landowners have so many individual events on their land that they exceed the permitted 28-day planning limit on events per year (unless their planning permission allows otherwise). Don’t have the festival that can’t go ahead that year because your host is giving you the “29th day”.
Ensure there are no restrictive covenants on the land, or any listed building status of associated buildings preventing you from hosting your event.
The copyright
Some people believe (or convince themselves) that obtaining a licence under the Licensing Act 2003 covers their obligations under copyright law. This is, of course, nonsense. Check that you are paying the correct tariffs to PRS and PPL where applicable, as well as any associated video copyright requirements.
Data protection
The processing of personal information (for example, filming festival-goers either with CCTV or for promotional purposes, or retention of personal data through ticket sales) carries certain obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998. Make sure you are not breaching these.
Miscellaneous consents
These are all SAG-related, but the more confidence you instil in the SAG, the more likely you will obtain the hours and activities you want with your licence application. The three key elements to have in place are:
- Any necessary road closure orders
- Your public/employers’ liability insurance (preferably a policy with legal cover for enforcement issues)
- Your food safety/electrical/gas safety certificates
The premises licence
The main Authorities you will have to deal with for your licence application will be the Licensing Authority itself, the police, and Environmental Health.
The Licensing Authority’s role
The Licensing Authority will want to make sure that:
- Your application is in the correct format (for example, that your layout plans conform to the regulations)
- You’re paying the right fee (anything above 5,000 capacity and you will be paying a so-called “additional fee”, which can amount to thousands of pounds)
They’ll filter any irrelevant or vexatious objections to your application to hopefully ensure that you only face objections based on genuine concerns.
The police’s role
The police will, of course, be concerned with a wide range of issues. In particular, they’ll want to know about the following:
- Your crowd management policy
- Your stewarding and door staff companies
- How you prevent tent thefts
- How you deal with drugs
- How you ensure that under-18s cannot purchase or consume alcohol
The role of environmental health
Environmental health agencies, in this context, will be primarily concerned with noise. They’ll expect you to have liaised early with local residents and parish councils and have a detailed noise management plan.
The police and environmental health organisations have a range of measures, including noise abatement notices (even before the event) and closure notices under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. These can shut you down immediately, before the first song.
Pro tip
It’s worth remembering that most of these officials are more used to dealing with fixed premises such as pubs, nightclubs, and off-licences. Confidence is key: if they have seen a detailed, considered Event Safety Plan with all the appropriate appendices, have attended SAGs where you have presented a comprehensively thought-out event, and are not surprised by a last-minute application, you’re likely to win them over. Most officials will be proud to be associated with a successful, well-run event.
Time-limited licences
Do you plan to have simply a one-off or an annual event? If it’s the latter, you may want to get a time-limited licence that permits you to have your event at the same location. For example, the wording might specify “for a maximum of four consecutive days between the months of May and September inclusively” or “the first Friday and Saturday in June each year”. Be careful with how such conditions are worded, as you don’t want to be pinned down unnecessarily.
The benefit of having a time-limited licence is that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of applying every year. That said, there will still be SAG requirements and notification obligations to residents and the authorities written into your licence conditions.
Start planning
Planning ahead is critical for any future events when it comes to licensing and regulation. Public bodies need plenty of advance notification, and you should build trust with them by showing careful, considered plans. More often than not, they’ll be willing to work with you to host a successful event.
Finally, the above tips are not exhaustive. If you’re unsure about your legal obligations, consult a professional. You don’t want your event to close down before the gates open, especially after investing time and money.
Ready to start planning your new event? Get started with Eventbrite today!
This is a guest post by Andy Grimsey, a solicitor at Poppleston Allen where he acts for major breweries, late-night operators, restaurant chains, developers and large independents, including festivals. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
