How To ...

This section provides valuable information on:

• How to vary hours and activities in a new licence
• How to change a manager as DPS
• How to get a Personal Licence
• How to transfer a Premises Licence
• How to get a Criminal Record Bureau disclosure certificate
• Licensing Act 2003 – How to Apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN)
• Licensing Act 2003 – How to Apply for a Personal License

Licensing Act 2003 – How to Apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN)

Under the Licensing Act 1964 a pub operator could apply to the Magistrates for Occasional Licences to allow extra hours and activities like music and dance. The equivalent in the 2003 Act is a Temporary Event Notice granted by the Council as Licensing Authority.

Scope and Constraints

A TEN can cover any licensable activity or combination of activities on any premises whether or not they already have a licence. Premises can be buildings but can also be streets and open spaces. The Government Guidance suggests that, wherever possible applicants for premises licences should predict special requirements and include then into the terms of their premises licence so that no further TEN will be needed. However many pubs that have tried to do this have been knocked back by Police and the use of TENs by pubs is likely to be more frequent as a result.

There are key constraints on TENs

1. No premises may apply for more than 12 per annum.
2. They can be for up to 96 hours each time, but total no more than 15 days per annum.
3. There must be at least a 24 hour gap between events.
4. A personal licence holder may apply for no more than 50 a year, but any person can apply for 5 a year even if they have no personal licence, no licensing qualification and no experience.
5. The event may attract no more than 499 people at a time. If it is bigger it needs a premises licence of its own.

Does Your Event Need a TEN?

Don’t apply if you don’t need to

1. If your premises licence allows all the proposed activities during all the hours of the event then your premises licence already covers you even if you are proposing to do something you do not customarily offer to your customers.
2. If the event is a private hiring, with no free or ticketed access to the public, then it is not covered by the Licensing Act 2003 even if it happens on your licensed premises. A private event like a wedding reception, a Masonic dinner or a 21st birthday party can have any hours and music, dance etc in your function room, even if outside the scope of your PUBLIC licence. You can sell wholesale drink, cater to the hirer and charge a hire fee for the room without needing a TEN.

The TEN Application Form

This is attached. You send two copies to the Licensing Authority where the premises is situated and one copy to the local police, at least 10 working days in advance. I recommend you apply much further in advance if you can. It does not need to be advertised on site nor in a newspaper. Only the Police can object, within 5 working days, and then only on grounds of crime & disorder. The fee is £21 each time you apply.

Objections and Enforcement

Particularly note that the EHO has no status to object BUT the EHO still has powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to curb actual noise nuisance, and all the authorities have power to call for a review of any premises licence if the premises are regularly being used in a way that causes harm to the licensing objectives. So the TEN is not licence to be an irresponsible neighbour. I suspect bigger problems will arise from events on unlicensed premises such as raves, where the organizer and the landowner both have no licences to lose.

Download

Final TEN Application Form

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