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New premises licence

Apply for a new licence to provide late-night refreshments, regulated entertainment and to sell alcohol in a premises.

To provide late-night refreshment between 11pm and 5am, regulated entertainment and sell alcohol in Torbay you need a licence from us.

The following activities will require a premises licence:

  • Retail sale of alcohol - this includes via the internet or mail order and "drink included in ticket" style events, however the supply of alcohol to members of registered clubs and their guests is not an activity covered by a premises licence; see Club Premises Certificate for further details.
  • Supply of late night refreshments - This includes the supply of hot food or drink between the hours of 11pm and 5am, (mobile food vans will also need a separate street trading consent) unless you fall under an exemption.
  • Provision of regulated entertainment - see the additional information section below for examples of regulated entertainment.

If you apply for a premises licence that includes the consent to sell alcohol you must nominate a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and this person must hold a personal licence.

Once granted, a premises licence will last for the life of the business and therefore will not need to be renewed, although an annual fee will be payable.

Before making your application please make sure you read our Licensing Principles.

Who can apply for a premises licence?

  • Anyone who uses or carries on a business in the premises to which the application relates
  • A recognised club
  • A charity
  • The proprietor of an educational institution
  • A health service body
  • A person who is registered under the Care Standards Act 2000 in relation to an independent hospital
  • A person who is registered under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the carrying on of a regulated activity in an independent hospital
  • A chief police officer of a force in England and Wales
  • Anyone discharging a statutory or function under Her Majesty's prerogative
  • Any other permitted person
  • Any individual aged 18 or over

Applications

Applications for a premises licence must be sent to us if the premises are located in Torbay. There is a consultation period and you will need to advertise the application.

The application must include:

  • The correct fee
  • Premises Licence plan (scale 1:100)
  • The consent of the individual who is specified as Designated Premises Supervisor (if applying to sell alcohol) - download the consent form, complete it and upload it with the application if applying online
  • Documents demonstrating your entitlement to work in the UK (please ignore if the application is being made in a limited company)

Online applications

Apply for a premises licence

If you make an application online, you are not required to send a copy of the application to the Responsible Authorities, we will do this for you.

Paper applications

You can also apply for a new licence by downloading and completing an application form and sending it to us.

If you submit a paper application you must also send a copy to the Police, Fire, Public Health, Safeguarding Unit and The Home Office (Immigration Enforcement). You can find their contact details in the list of responsible authorities.

Sections

List of responsible authorities

Useful documents and information

Examples of regulated entertainment

This includes:

  • The performance of a play.
  • An exhibition of a film.
  • An indoor sporting event.
  • A boxing or wrestling entertainment.
  • A performance of live music.
  • Any playing of recorded music.
  • A performance of dance.
  • The provision of facilities for making music or for dancing.

Application process

Applications must be sent to the Licensing Authority for the area where the premises are located. If the premises extend over more than one Licensing Authority area the application must be made to the Licensing Authority in which the majority of the premises are situated. There is also a consultation period and you will need to advertise the application.

Applications may be made online or by post and include the following documents and submissions:

Operating Schedule

An operating schedule is a document that should include all the information necessary to enable the Responsible Authorities or Interested Parties to assess whether the steps to be taken to promote the four licensing objectives are satisfactory. The form of an operating schedule is provided within the specified application form and must be completed.

Consent of Designated Premises Supervisor

In the case of an application for a premises licence which relates to the sale or supply of alcohol, the consent of the individual who the applicant wishes to have specified as the premises supervisor in the licence must be provided.

Plan(s) of the Premises and / or Land

All applications for the grant of a premises licence must be accompanied by a plan of the premises to which the application relates. For clarity, it is recommended that plans together with the prescribed features they contain be colour coded. The plan must be to a scale of 1:100 (unless otherwise agreed with the Licensing Authority).

Required Fee

For all applications for first-time grant of a premises licence, the prescribed fee must accompany the application.

What happens next?

The Responsible Authorities and any Interested Parties have 28 days, beginning with the day after on which the premises licence application is accepted, to raise a valid representation if they consider that the application would undermine the four licensing objectives.

If no objection is received against the premises licence application, we will grant the premises licence as requested. This will usually be done within 7 days from the close of the 28 day consultation period.

The total timescale for dealing with a premises licence application (no objection received) is therefore expected to be no more than 35 consecutive days commencing with the correct receipt of all the paperwork (including all the copies of the application and plans to the Responsible Authorities) and the associated fee.

Advertising process

Local Newspaper

In all cases, an application must be advertised by publishing a notice in a local newspaper. This advert must be published on at least one occasion within 10 working days of the application being accepted by us.

Site Notice

The application must also be advertised by displaying a notice at or on the premises.  This notice must be A4 or larger in size, pale blue in colour and located in such a position where it can be conveniently read from the exterior of the premises.

The notice must be printed legibly (font size 16), be printed or typed in black ink and must be displayed for a period of 28 consecutive days. For any premises covering an area more than 50 metres square, two A4 notices must be displayed.

All notices must contain a statement of the relevant licensable activities and timings that the applicant is applying for at the premises.

Failed application redress

If a valid representation against one of the four licensing objectives is received from any of the Responsible Authorities or any Interested Parties, the applicant will be notified and the Licensing Authority must hold a hearing to consider the representation/s.

The Committee would consider if the application promotes the four licensing objectives and the burden would be on the Responsible Authority, or any Interested Parties to demonstrate to the committee that they believe it does not. In this case, the committee could either reject the premises licence application or grant the premises licence with restrictions (timings, conditions etc). Otherwise, the premises licence would be granted as requested.

A right of appeal exists to the Magistrates' Court for all parties involved, including the applicant, Responsible Authorities and Interested Parties, however, it must be lodged with the Court within 21 consecutive days of the date of the notice of the decision.

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