The Stage

Blackpool venues failing to apply for live licences

Published Wednesday 15 June 2005 at 11:05 by Nuala Calvi

Fewer than one in eight clubs and bars in light entertainment’s Blackpool heartland have applied for new live entertainment licences under the recently introduced Licensing Act, prompting fears that artists will struggle to find places to perform after the regulations come into force on November 24.

Under the new act, venues will no longer be able to use the ‘two in a bar rule’, which allowed them to host one or two performers without registration, and must apply to the local authority for an entertainment licence along with a new alcohol licence. However, most of the alcohol permit applications that have been received by Blackpool Council have come from off-licences, with only 2% from entertainment venues.

Equity variety councillor Dave Eager said the figures were a serious concern for entertainers working in clubs and pubs. “Will we have any work after November? My general impression is that people aren’t aware of the need to apply for a new licence, or they’re thinking they can put it off until the last minute. If the picture in Blackpool is replicated in seaside towns around the country, there could be a huge shock for us in November.”

His concerns are echoed by the Musicians’ Union, which has called on local authorities to do more to inform venue owners of the need to put in an application by August 6.

According to the Local Government Association, councils have been writing to licensees and holding workshops to inform them of the change. But a poll it carried out last month found less than 5% of expected applications had been received and it has issued a warning to a significant number of pubs that they could be unable to trade over Christmas.

A spokesman said: “Every licensed premises in the country has to apply for a new licence or, on November 24, they won’t be able to sell alcohol or have light entertainment until their application is processed.”

Department for Culture, Media and Sport figures suggest that around 10% of venues have applied for new licences across the country.

A deluge of applications is expected before the August 6 deadline, raising the possibility that many will not be processed in time. After the deadline, venues will have to apply for an entertainment licence separately from the alcohol licence, with a charge attached.

Blackpool Council is reporting an increase in the number of applications during the past two weeks and venues that had been staging previously exempt performances seem to be applying for entertainment licences.

But musician and campaigner Hamish Birchall said: “There will be chaos on November 24. If the application is not processed by the local authority within two months, it is automatically refused, and if that happens then landlords who have been making use of their historic exemption will find they lose that right and will have to stop the music. They will have to go through a public consultation, which takes even more time.”

The DCMS is running a campaign during the coming weeks to get the message across. A spokeswoman said: “The big organisations know they have to put applications in, they just haven’t done it yet. It’s the smaller, independent bars and clubs who are more of a concern. Maybe they think that if they’re not applying for 24-hour drinking, they don’t need to apply.”