This page contains information about the Licensing Act 2003 and holding temporary events that may involve the sale of alcohol or entertainment. 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.
Temporary event notices (TENs) introduction
This page contains information about how to serve a temporary event notice (TEN). A temporary event notice allows a premises/property to be used for short term licensable activities such as the sale of alcohol or regulated entertainment subject to certain conditions and replaces the old system of occasional licences and occasional permissions.
Restrictions on TENs
The system for temporary events involves an event organiser (the "premises user") giving a temporary event notice to the licensing authority and copying this to the police.
TENs can be used to authorise relatively small-scale ad hoc events held at premises involving no more than 499 people at any one time.
To serve a TEN, fill out the notice form attached to the right of this page. Send two copies of the notice to Entertainment Licensing plus the fee of £21 and a further copy to West Yorkshire Police. Please send the notices at least ten clear working days before the day on which the event is due to take start (this should not include the date of receipt or the day of the event).
Please note the rules about the ten day notice period are strict and we will be unable to accept your TEN if you give less notice than this. Ideally 15 working days notice is preferred. Please make cheques payable to 'Leeds City Council'.
Anyone aged 18 or over can give a maximum of five TENs per year. Personal licence holders can give a maximum of fifty TENs per year. TENs are subject to other limits, as set out below;
- Each event covered by a TEN can last no longer than 96 hours
- No more than 12 TENs can be given for the same premises in any year
- A maximum aggregate duration of the periods covered by TENs at any individual premises of 15 days in any year
- There must be a minimum of 24 hours between events notified by a premises user or associates of that premises user in respect of the same premises
Provided that the criteria set out above are met, only the police may intervene to prevent an event covered by a TEN taking place or agree a modification of the arrangements for such an event and then only on crime prevention grounds.
TENs over the festive period
In order to comply with the ten clear working day rule for TENs over the festive period, notices must be served on both Entertainment Licensing and West Yorkshire Police by the following dates:
- For 24th Dec - Serve on or before 9th Dec
- For 25th Dec - Serve on or before 10th Dec
- For 26th Dec - Serve on or before 10th Dec
- For 31st Dec - Serve on or before 12th Dec
TENs received after these dates for the festive period will be refused, and the application will be returned by post. No exceptions for the ten clear working day rule will be made under any circumstances.
What next
This page offers a brief insight into how to serve a TEN. If you wish to serve a temporary event notice simply download the notice form available on this page. Please read the form and accompanying guidance notes before you begin. Further guidance and information can be obtained from the Department of Culture Media and Sport website. See the internet link available from this page.
Alternatively if you would like the notice form sending to you in Microsoft Word format so you can fill it out electronically or you would like a hard copy of the form sending in the post please contact us and we will be happy to help.
We have also prepared a guidance document called "Managing a temporary event" (which you can download from this page) which gives helpful advice about how to operate an event in a way which promotes the licensing objectives of:
- prevention of crime and disorder
- public safety
- prevention of public nuisance and the
- protection of children from harm.
Address list
1) Leeds City Council - Entertainment Licensing
Civic Hall
Leeds
LS1 1UR
2) West Yorkshire Police
Robert Patterson
Leeds District Licensing Officer
Millgarth Police Station
Leeds
LS2 7HX
Telephone: 0113 241 4023
Fax: 0113 241 3123