This page contains information about the Licensing Act 2003 and premises licence variations. If you need any help or advice about anything on this page please contact us by telephone or email. Our telephone line is open Monday to Thursday 9am - 5pm and Friday 9am - 4:30pm. You can also offer us feedback on our service by filling out our online customer feedback form.

Premises Licence Variation (Introduction)

This page is aimed at individuals or businesses who hold a premises licence who may be considering an application to vary that premises licence.

What is an application to vary?

If you already hold a premises licence issued by Leeds City Council then you will have some form of authorisation to carry out one or more licensable activities. Under the legislation you can at any time make an application under section 34 of the Act to vary your premises licence to alter the terms of your licence. You may wish to extend the hours you sell alcohol, or ask to have conditions removed from your existing licence. You can also add a licensable activity that your current licence does not authorise you to carry out. If however you want to add alcohol then you need to be aware that you will need to fulfil a lengthier application process.

1) You will need a personal licence holder to authorise the supply of alcohol in line with your premises licence.

2) You will need to nominate a designated premise supervisor (DPS) on your premises licence application. The premises supervisor must be a personal licence holder.

These items are covered in more detail in the guidance document GN-A which you can download from the page 'Licensing Act 2003 - New Premises Licence Application Pack'.

It is also important to note that you will not be able to carry out the activities you have applied for until your application has been processed by the Licensing Authority. If your application receives representations during the application process this could take up to two months.

Overview of the application process

To apply to vary a premises licence you need to complete the form PREM7 (downloadable from this page)

On page 13 of the application form you need to describe what steps you will take to promote the licensing objectives. When you send copies of your application to the responsible authorities they will look at this section to check whether you have taken sufficient steps to promote the licensing objectives. If one or more of the agencies are not satisfied with the content of this section your application may receive a representation.

To help you fill out this section you may wish to use our risk assessment pro forma which contains many of the key issues which the responsible authorities will be expecting you to demonstrate. See the document (GN-C) downloadable from this page.

Your application may also need to include an updated plan. If you are an existing premises licence holder then we will already have a plan of your premises on file. However If your application to vary is going to lead to substantial changes to the nature of the premises licence then we will expect you to submit a new plan with your application. For example if you are adding a new licensable activity then this would require an updated plan showing where the new licensable activity will take place. If the variation just changes the hours of operation of your existing licensable activities then an amended plan may not be required. If you are not sure whether we will be expecting you to submit a new plan with your application to vary, please contact Entertainment Licensing.

Any updated plan of your premises should show:

• the boundary of the building with any external or internal walls;
• entrances and exits to the building;
• escape routes from the building;
• locations of different licensable activities in the building (if relevant);
• where alcohol will be consumed in the premises;
• fixed or temporary structures which may block entrances or exits to the building;
• the location and height of any stages in the premises; any steps, stairs, elevators or lifts in the premises;
• the location of any public toilets in the building
• fire safety equipment or any other safety equipment such as;
   - Location of fire alarm; type of sounder eg. siren or bell
   - Whether it is a heat or smoke detector
   - Location of emergency lighting
   - Location of illuminated exit signs
   - Location of fire extinguishers and ID type
   - Position of any fire doors
   - Location of fire blanket
• the location of a kitchen.  

Unless agreed with the Council, the plan should be drawn to a standard scale with a key showing the items mentioned above. The standard scale is 1:100.

When you send your application to the Licensing Authority and the responsible authorities (see the web page Licensing Act 2003 - Responsible Authority Addresses) you will then need to fulfil a 28 day notice period. This is a period of time when your application is advertised and when responsible authorities and other interested parties such as local residents can make representations to the licensing authority about your application. (see section 4 below)

If after this 28 day notice period your application has received no representations then your new licence will be granted subject only to certain conditions which are consistent with the measures you volunteered at page 13 of your application form plus any other mandatory conditions imposed by the Act. If representations are received during the notice period then your application will go to a hearing.
Your new varied licence will remain in force from the date of issue indefinitely.

Advertising your application

When applying for a variation of a premises licence, the Act requires you to advertise your application. The rules on advertising are strict and should be followed carefully.
You must display a notice about your application at or on your licensed premises. The notice must be displayed for 28 days. The 28 days run from the day after you sent your application to the Council.

The notice must be on pale blue A4 paper, although it can be larger, with black lettering. The lettering must be at least in 16 font.  Do not obscure the notice in any way or make it difficult to read. Others must be able to read the notice from outside your premises.

If your premises is more than 50 metres square you must place a notice, identical to the one described above, every 50 metres along the external perimeter of your premises where it touches the highway.

When preparing your notices, please ensure they contain all of the prescribed information:

• A description of the activities which currently take place on your premises which are licensed plus details about the variation that you are applying for
• Your name
• The address of your premises
• The Council's internet address
• That written objections about your application can be sent to the Council for a limited time
• That making a false objection is a criminal offence

A blank template notice (document NOTICE3) can be downloaded from this page.
 
You must also publish a notice about your premises licence variation. It must be placed with a local newspaper which covers the area where the premises is located. The notice should appear within 10 working days of your application being sent to the Council. It must contain the same information as the notice placed on your premises but does not need to have the same lettering, dimensions, font size or colouring.

Fees

The fee to accompany your application is based on the non domestic rateable value of your property and will be as follows:

We can accept payment by all major credit and debit cards at our St George House office. Please visit St George House, Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3DL and report to our reception on the first floor.

Please make cheques payable to Leeds City Council.

What Next

This page gives a brief overview of the application process. If you wish to apply simply download each of the documents available on this page to form a complete application pack.

Alternatively if you would like the documents sending to you in Microsoft Word format so you can fill them out electronically or you would like a hard copy of the application pack sending in the post please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Contacts