Councillors as ” Intrested Parties” worry Licensees
Tuesday 9th February at 11:05 am
Press Statement
Councillors as "Interested Parties" Worry Licensees
From 29th January 2010, the Licensing Act 2003 will be revised by the Policing and Crime Act 2009 to include “members” of a licensing authority as “interested parties” in the licensing process.
Richard Williams from Leading Manchester solicitors Licensing Legal in the city centre said this means that elected members (Councillors) within a local authority will be added to the list of persons with powers under the Licensing Act. The list currently includes residents and businesses living or working in the vicinity of licensed premises.
Phil Burke from Manchester Pub & Club Network with over 600 members said whilst this might sound like a relatively minor change, it will mean that elected Councillors in a local authority (irrespective of the ward they represent) will be able to bring applications to review Premises Licences and to object to new applications and variations. This gives Councillors considerable power and could lead to the revocation of licences and/or refusal of licence applications.
So for example, an application for review of a Premises Licence could be brought by a Councillor, and would be determined at a hearing by fellow Councillors on the Licensing Sub-Committee. This is a fairly worrying development for licence holders and appears to go against the principle that licensing applications should be considered by an impartial committee.
It will be interesting to see how often Councillors exercise these powers and how Licensing Sub-Committee members will deal with representations made by other members of the same Council.
For more information please contact Phil Burke on 07968 203 271 or Richard Willaims
Licensing Legal Solicitors, Barclay House, 35 Whitworth Street West, Manchester M1 5NG
Office Tel: 0161 237 9961 (Option 4) Mobile: 07834 227351
Office Fax: 0161 237 9447
