The Licensing Act of 2003 allows local people and businesses to have a say when someone applies for a licence or certificate to sell alcohol, provide regulated entertainment or provide late night refreshments. The act also allows professionals such as the police, fire authorities and environmental health officers to examine licence applications and to take action if necessary. Interested party
To have your say, you must be an interested party. This means you must be:
- A person living in the vicinity of the premises
- A body (like a residents' association) representing people who live in that vicinity
- A person involved in a business in the vicinity of the premises
- A body (like a trade association) representing people involved in businesses in the vicinity of the premises
'Vicinity' is defined generally by South Gloucestershire Council as being a 100 metres from the premises in question. This is a guideline distance only and the Licensing Authority will consider representations from those who live and work outside that distance if they can demonstrate that they are (or, in the case of new premises, are likely to be), affected by disorder and disturbance occurring (or potentially occurring) on those premises.
Your rights
If you are an interested party you have a number of rights under the act.
If you think issuing a licence or certificate or changing an existing one would undermine any of the licensing objectives, you can make a representation.
The licensing objectives are:
- The prevention of crime and disorder
- Public safety
- The prevention of public nuisance
- The protection of children from harm
You can also ask us to review a licence or certificate if problems occur which undermine these objectives.
An 'interested party representation form' is available to download from this page – see 'Read more'. Forms must be returned within 28 days from the date the application was made.