Varying a Premises Licence

We were very happy with the support we received from TV Edwards throughout our, ultimately successful, premises licence application. They were diligent throughout, providing helpful guidance along the way and liaising with all of the relevant counterparties.

Trustees – North London Community group

At TV Edwards, we understand that the needs of your business may well change over time. You might want to extend your hours of operation or undertake a new licensable activities.

You might want to completely change the nature of your business, or you might have taken over a business that already has a Premises licence that doesn’t quite work for you or doesn’t permit you to carry out the sort of activities that you would like to.

To make a change to your Premises Licence, you will need to make an application to the local authority to vary it. Unless you are seeking to make only minor changes, the full variation process will need to be followed.

The process for applying for a licence variation is very similar to the process for applying for a new premises licence.

The application must be made to the local authority. You will be asked to set out both in broad terms and in detail exactly what the changes are that you wish to make. The application form goes on to ask you to set out what additional steps (if any) you intend to take to ensure that the changes you are proposing will not have an adverse impact on the licensing objectives.

You will also need to advertise the application in a local newspaper and by way of a formal notice displayed at the premises.

Once submitted, the application is subject to a 28-day consultation period. During this time, representations may be made by any person and/or responsible authorities. Should no representations be received, the proposed variation will be granted automatically at the end of this period.

Where representations are made, the licensing authority must hold a hearing within 20 working days, unless all parties agree that a hearing is not required. At such a hearing, the licensing sub-committee will hear arguments from all parties before deciding whether or not to grant the proposed variation.

How we can help with Varying a Premises Licence

TV Edwards’ licensing team has a proven track record of making successful applications to vary Premises Licences. We can provide you with advice on your application or we can look after the whole process for you from beginning to end. We can help you make sure that your application is consistent with the local licensing policy or if it differs from that policy, we can help you justify why that difference should be acceptable. We can help you negotiate terms with responsible authorities and other interested parties. We can advise you on which bits of your application are likely to succeed and which bits might be much harder to get through.

We deliver expert solutions with professionalism, clarity, respect and care. We pride ourselves on being open, approachable and easy to communicate with.

Recent Variations of Premises Licenses

Chicken shops in Sheffield, Birmingham and Oxford – successful applications made to extend the hours permitted in the licence in some cases to 04:00am.

Pizzeria (East London) – application to vary the licensed area after the client had substantially extended the size of his business.

Restaurant (North London) – adding the supply of alcohol to an existing licence.

Fees for our services

Our Licensing fees vary depending on the complexity of each case. Every case is different. Some applications will be very straightforward whist others might be extremely complex. Factors will include whether the licence sought is for a premises in a cumulative impact zone, whether the application deviates from local authority policies, whether local objections are anticipated and how novel or unusual the application is. Further information on our Licensing fees can be found here. Contact us today for a no obligation estimate of our fees in your case.