We recently made the decision to surrender our Premises License. Here we explain more about why and what that means.
What is a Premises License?: A Premises License allows a venue to conduct a range of 'licensable activity' within defined conditions.
Licensable activity includes:
(a)the sale by retail of alcohol,
(b)the supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to, or to the order of, a member of the club,
(c)the provision of regulated entertainment, and
(d)the provision of late night refreshment.
Why have you surrendered yours?: In recent years there's been some deregulation for village halls meaning that we don't need a license for many aspects of regulated entertainment such as plays and discos (provided they end before a certain time). Working with the District Council, we identified that there's very little activity where this was proving useful. We haven't sold our own alcohol at the Hall for some time which is a primary reason why many premises hold a license (such as pubs).
We also considered a license to be a risk to the Charity, as we can face unlimited fines and even imprisonment of our (unpaid) trustees if this license were breached. There have been recent local examples where party-goers have abused other community-run venues and we feel we must protect the Charity and our trustees from this.
What now?: We can still permit hirers to undertake licensable activity in our venue. The hirer will need a Temporary Events Notice to do this. The process of gaining a Temporary Events Notice is relatively simple and low cost (involving an online form) - we'll cover that in a moment.
'If you’re organising a temporary event and want to serve or sell alcohol, provide late night refreshment, or put on regulated entertainment (more on that here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/entertainment-licensing-changes-under-the-live-music-act)) you’ll need to apply for a temporary event notice (TEN)' (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/alcohol-licensing#temporary-events) . You will act as the relevant premises user.
Our licensing authority is South Derbyshire District Council and their information on TENS can be found here: https://www.southderbyshire.gov.uk/our-services/licensing/alcohol-and-entertainment/temporary-event-notice
If you're putting on just entertainment between 8am and 11pm then this is not generally subject to a TENs (but check the rules yourself) and you'll note there are exemptions for village halls.
How do I apply?: You can apply here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-licence/temporary-event-notice/south-derbyshire/apply-1 You must apply at least 10 days before your event.
You must provide proof to us that you've secured this TEN or outline why you consider one isn't needed before your hire session.
You should make sure that you have a copy of your TEN at the hire session as laid out in the licensing act. Any questions on licensing for your event should be directed to SDDC:
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