Temporary Events Notices

• Temporary Events Notices

• Where There Is a Personal Licence Holder Involved

• Police Intervention

• Additional Limitations

Temporary Events Notices

Temporary event notices are subject to various limitations. These are concerned with:

a) duration - they are limited to events lasting for up to 96 hours;

 

b) scale – they cannot involve the presence of more than 499 people at any one time;

 

c) use of the same premises – the same premises cannot be used more than 12 times in a single period of 12 months;

 

d) the number of notices given by one individual within a given period of time – a personal licence holder is limited to 50 notices in one year, and an ordinary person to five notices in a similar period.

In any other circumstances, a temporary event at which licensable activities are to take place would require a premises licence if the premises or place at which the event is to take place is currently unlicensed for the activity or activities involved. The procedures for applying for and granting such a licence are identical to those for a permanent licence.

The Council will clearly specify on such a licence when it comes into force and when the permission ends. Where the sale of alcohol is involved, there will need to be a designated premises supervisor specified who is a personal licence holder.

The most important aspects of the system of temporary event notices are that no permission is required for these events from the Council. In general, only the police may intervene to prevent such an event or modify the arrangements for such an event. The Council will only ever intervene itself if the limits on the number of notices that may be given in various circumstances would be exceeded.

Such a light touch is possible because of the limitations directly imposed by the Act itself. The limitations apply to:

a) the number of times a person may give a temporary event notice (50 times per year for a personal licence holder and 5 times per year for other people);

 

b) the number of times a temporary event notice may be given in respect of any particular premises (12 times in a calendar year);

 

c) the length of time a temporary event may last for these purposes (96 hours);

 

d) the maximum aggregate duration of periods covered by temporary events notices at any individual premises (15 days); and

 

e) the scale of the event in terms of the maximum number of people attending at any one time (less than 500).

In any other circumstances, a full premises licence or club premises certificate would be required for the period of the event involved. A person may also choose to apply for a premises licence if they do not wish to take advantage of the light touch arrangements.

Many premises users giving temporary event notices will not have commercial backgrounds or ready access to legal advice. They will include, for example, people acting on behalf of charities, community and voluntary groups, schools, churches and hospitals all of which may stage public events to raise funding at which licensable activities will take place. The Council will ensure that local guidance about the temporary permitted activities is clear and understandable and will strive to keep the arrangements manageable and user-friendly for these groups.

Further information can be found on the Department of Culture, Media & Sports website

Where There Is A Personal Licence Holder Involved

A personal licence holder will be able to sell alcohol at normally unlicensed premises on 50 occasions in each year for up to three days on each occasion, subject to informing the Council and Cleveland Police of relevant details. These details are:

a)  the licensable activities to take place during the event;

 

b)  the period during which it is proposed to use the premises for licensable activities;

 

c)  the times during the event period that the premises user proposes that the licensable activities shall take place;

 

d)  the maximum number of persons which it is proposed should, during those times, be allowed on the premises at the same time;

 

e)  where the licensable activities include the supply of alcohol, whether the supplies are proposed to be for consumption on the premises or off the premises or both; and

 

f)   any other prescribed matters.

On each occasion at least 10 working days notice must be given, but there is nothing to prevent simultaneous notification of multiple events at a single time so long as the final event is at least ten days away. For example, an individual personal licence holder wishing to exhibit and sell beer at a series of country shows may wish to give several notices simultaneously. However, this would only be possible where all the events are to take place in the Borough of Stockton on Tees.

Ten working days is the minimum possible notice that may be given. The Council will publicise locally their preferences in terms of proper notice and would encourage notice givers to provide the earliest possible notice of events likely to take place.

The Council will not seek to attach any terms, limitations or restrictions on such events other than those set down in the legislation. However the Council will provide local advice about proper respect for the concerns of local residents; of other legislative requirements regarding health and safety, noise pollution or the building of temporary structures; of other necessary permissions, for example, with regard to road closures or the use of pyrotechnics in public places; with regard to local bye-laws; and the need to prevent anti-social behaviour by those attending.

Local publicity will also remind notice givers of relevant offences under licensing law including the laws governing sales of alcohol to minors or to any person who is drunk, and of the police powers to close down events with no notice on grounds of disorder, the likelihood of disorder or the because of public nuisance, including noise emanating from the premises.

A purpose of the notification requirement is to enable the Council to check that the limitations set down in the Act are being observed and to intervene if they are not. Where the application is not within the parameters described above, the Council will issue a counter notice to the person giving the notice. Where the notice is in order, the fee prescribed by the Secretary of State paid, the event falls within the limitations in the Act, and there has been no Police intervention, the Council will record the notice in its register and send an acknowledgement to the premises user.

Further information can be found on the Department of Culture, Media & Sports website

Police Intervention

The second and more important purpose is to afford the police the opportunity to consider whether, exceptionally, they should prevent the event taking place for reasons of preventing crime and disorder or insist on certain conditions. Such exceptional cases might arise because of concerns about the scale, location or timing of the event.

The Act provides that in exceptional circumstances, the police may issue an objection notice because they believe the event would undermine the crime prevention objective set out in the Act. The Police must issue any objection notice within 48 hours of being notified, but they can subsequently withdraw their counter notice. If the Police do not intervene, they will still be able to rely on their powers of closure should disorder or disturbance subsequently arise. The issuing of such an objection notice requires the consideration of the objection by the Council at a hearing. Consideration by the licensing authority is confined to the crime prevention objective. The Council will not, for example, uphold a Police objection notice on grounds of public nuisance. At the hearing, the Police and the premises user may put argument to the relevant Licensing Committee. A hearing would not be necessary if the Police withdraw the objection notice.

The possibility of Police intervention is another reason why event organizers are encouraged by the Council not to rely on giving the minimum amount of notice and to contact local Police Licensing Officers at the earliest possible opportunity about their proposals.

Further information can be found on the Department of Culture, Media & Sports website

Additional Limitations

The Council, on receiving temporary event notices, will also check that other requirements of the Act are met. For example, a temporary event notice would be void unless there is a minimum of 24 hours between events notified by the premises user in respect of the same premises. This is to prevent evasion of the 96-hour limit on such events, and emphasise the need to obtain a full premises licence for more major events. In addition, for these purposes, a notice is treated as being from the same premises user if an associate gives it.

The Act defines an associate as being:

a) the spouse of that person;

 

b) a child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother or sister of that person or their spouse; or

 

c) an agent or employee of that person or their spouse;

 

Further information can be found on the Department of Culture, Media & Sports website