Reviewing a licensed premises

If there are problems in the community with a licensed premises, we can review the licence. The review must be about a particular premises. It must relate to one or more of these licensing objectives:

  • prevention of crime and disorder
  • public safety
  • prevention of public nuisance
  • protection of children from harm

Before you apply for a review, you should consider if there is anything else you can do to deal with the problem. You can speak to:

  • the Licence/Certificate holder
  • a Licensing Officer
  • any of the Responsible Authorities

When we receive an application for review, we need to decide if it is valid. It could be frivolous, vexatious or repetitious.

There is no cost for an application for review. Complete the form , and give as much information as you can. The hearing will only discuss issues raised in your application.

Applying for a review

Complete the application for a review of a premises licence and send a copy to the licence holder and a copy to each of the Responsible Authorities. Keep a copy for yourself.

We look at the application, and will either:

  • Reject the application if we decide it is frivolous, vexatious or repetitious. If we reject it, we will write to you and tell you why. If you are not happy with the decision, you can apply to the High Court for a Judicial Review
  • Accept the application. If we do, we will write to you to tell you. We will display a public notice with details of the review at the premises and at the Town Hall. We display the notice for 28 consecutive days, starting the day after we receive the application. During this period, other people and Responsible Authorities can make representations. These can be negative or positive, but they must relate to the premises and to the licensing objectives

After 28 days, we arrange a meeting of the Licensing Committee. They look at the application and any representations. This meeting happens within 20 working days of the last date specified in the public notice for receipt of representations. 

At the hearing, the Licensing Committee might:

For Premises Licences:

  • change the conditions of the Licence
  • exclude an activity from the Licence
  • remove the Designated Premises Supervisor
  • suspend the Licence for a period no longer than 3 months
  • remove the Licence
  • any or none of the above 

For Club Certificates:

  • change the conditions of the Certificate
  • exclude an activity from the Certificate
  • suspend the Certificate for no longer than 3 months
  • withdraw the Certificate
  • any or none of the above 

Appeal a decision

After the hearing, we write to those involved to confirm the decisions of the Licensing Committee. You can lodge an appeal against the Committee's decision at the appropriate Magistrates' Court. 

Any decision made will not take effect until either: