Businesses face closure after missing licensing deadline
As many as 50,000 places providing late alcohol, hot food or entertainment have reportedly failed to apply for new licences under the Licensing Act 2003.
Many small businesses, such as pubs, restaurants and takeaways, could be forced to close temporarily after failing to reapply for licences to open after 11pm.
The new licences take effect from November 24th and firms had until midnight last night to apply for automatic extensions to their existing licences.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has warned that many companies may face a “gap in trading” and a spokeswoman revealed that up to a quarter of the 190,000 businesses that needed to reapply had failed to do so.
Companies affected by the change to licensing laws can still reapply for a licence, but will face a delay while it is processed and may have to close temporarily as they are not guaranteed to get the new licence in time.
The new system will allow businesses to extend licensing hours up to 24 hours a day and many pubs are thought to have applied for an extension already.
Business leaders criticised the new system as expensive and cumbersome, particularly for small businesses.
A spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium said: “It’s been quite a burdensome process, often requiring lawyers to come on board to complete the process.”
