The government has amended the Licensing Act 2003 to allow minor variations to premises licences and club premises certificates from 29 July 2009.
Minor variations will usually fall into one of four categories:
- minor changes to the structure or layout of the premises
- small adjustments to licensing hours
- the removal of out of date, irrelevant or unenforceable conditions or the addition of volunteered conditions
- the addition of certain licensable activities
In all cases the overall test is whether the proposals could impact adversely on any of the four licensing objectives.
Procedure
The applicant is not required to advertise the minor variation in a newspaper or copy it to responsible authorities. They must display details of the application on a WHITE notice (instead of the usual blue) at the premises, where it can be conveniently read by the public. The notice must remain in place for 10 working days starting on the day after the application was given to the licensing authority.
Upon receipt of such an application, the licensing authority must consider whether the proposed changes could have a detrimental impact on the licensing objectives. If the authority feels it necessary, it may consult with the responsible authorities and take their views into account when reaching a decision. The authority must also consider any representations received from interested parties during the ten working days after the application was received by the authority. The authority then has a further five working days in which to make a decision to either grant or refuse the minor variation application.
If an application is granted, a revised licence will be issued. If the application is refused then a full variation application may be submitted and dealt with in the usual way.
Application forms for minor variations are available via the 'Application Forms' page on this website.
