The Stage

Delayed live music applications could spell end for venues

Published Wednesday 30 March 2005 at 10:55 by Ruth Gillespie

The body which represents more than 500 councils in England and Wales has warned that live entertainment venues could be forced to close if they fail to comply with new legislation requiring them to apply for a joint alcohol and entertainment licence by August 6.

According to research from the Local Government Association, councils are becoming increasingly worried that pubs and clubs will not have completed their applications in time to comply with the Licensing Act, which comes into force in November 2005, as so far only a handful have completed the forms.

Chair of the LGA’s Safer Communities Board Bryony Rudkin said: “We are concerned that many sections of the industry are unaware that they have to apply for new permits and we would encourage licensees to get their applications in sooner rather than later.”

Under the new legislation all pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants and theatres must apply to their local council for the new authorisation, which will grant a free entertainment permit to venues applying for an alcohol licence, by August 6 - regardless of when their current permit expires.

Businesses that do not do so in this period will lose their so-called ‘grandfather’ rights and will have to reapply for permission to play live music - a process that many fear will be both complicated and costly. Venues that do not have a licence when the new regime comes into effect will face prosecution if they continue to trade.

Rudkin added: “Local businesses that lose their grandfather rights may find themselves with a real headache when they do eventually apply. Without the unconditional acceptance of previous rights they had, many premises may have difficulties obtaining their operational licences at all and risk finding themselves out of business.”

Research carried out by the LGA showed that Hertsmere Borough Council, St Helen’s Council, Chester City Council and East Herts Council have received no applications so far, while only a handful have been received by councils in London. Westminster City Council has reported 27 applications out of a possible 3,600 while Camden Borough Council has received only two from the 1,700 licensed premises in the borough.

Campaigner Hamish Birchall said: “As licensees have discovered, the new application forms are much more complex in terms of the information required. Local authorities are looking much more closely at the type of music being proposed. Indeed, this complexity has already been cited as one cause of the delay in licence conversion applications.”

The Licensing Act does away with the unpopular ‘two in a bar’ rule that theoretically allowed two or fewer performers to work in premises without a Public Entertainment Licence. This, however, was open to interpretation by local authorities with licences available at wildly varying costs depending on in which part of the country they were applied for.

Although the government is confident that the new legislation will encourage greater provision of live music, a government survey published in October revealed that more than 80% of venue owners capable of hosting live music did not intend to do so after the new laws came into effect.