Councils work to meet licensing deadline
Some local council offices will open today in an attempt to push through last-minute applications to extend existing alcohol licences, the BBC reports.
Businesses have until midnight on Saturday to apply for an automatic extension to provide alcohol, hot food and entertainment after closing time at 11pm, but it is estimated that almost 50,000 firms will miss the deadline.
Under the Licensing Act 2003, introduced by the government to tackle binge drinking and anti-social behaviour, businesses in England and Wales must have new applications approved by November 24, or face closure.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture Media and Sport said a quarter of the estimated 190,000 businesses needing to reapply looked set to miss the deadline.
“Those applying after August 6th face not being granted a new licence so they could be obviously looking at a gap in trading,” warned the spokeswoman.
Chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said transferring the power to grant alcohol, food and entertainment licences from magistrates to local authorities had put a strain on councils’ resources and “placed a real burden on businesses.”
“When November comes, you may find it difficult to order a round at your local, drop in for a bottle of wine at your corner shop or get a take-away after closing time,” he warned.
It is thought most of those businesses that have yet to apply for the transfer of their existing licence are off-licences and takeaways.
A spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association spokesman told the BBC that the efforts of local councils to administer the new licence applications on time were welcome, but stressed that most major pub chains had already made their applications.
“Real problems remain for other sectors, such as corner shops, restaurants and late-night food venues, which have not seen licence applications at the same high rates,” the spokesman warned, but added that independently-owned pubs could still be at risk.
“Over-zealous town hall bureaucracy and unnecessary hearings” could still hamper the new licence application process, he said.
