Licensing Act 2003

Welcome to Ceredigion County Council's Licensing Act 2003 web page. The intention of this web page is to provide the public and the trade with a source of information about the new Act and help to give them a greater understanding of how the changes to the new licensing laws will affect them.

In 2001, the Government announced plans to reform the country's licensing laws.  As a result, on the 10th July 2003 the Licensing Act 2003 received its Royal Assent and following a series of delays the Government announced that the first appointed day would be February 7th 2005.  From this date the Council will be able to receive applications under the new regime.  The Act is expected to come into force fully in November of this year.  It will affect those concerned with the operation of:

• Pubs and nightclubs
• Indoor sporting events
• Off-licences
• Restaurants that serve alcohol
• Businesses offering hot food between 11pm and 5am
• Hotels, guest houses and other places that sell alcohol
• Private members' clubs and social clubs
• Theatres and amateur dramatic groups
• Cinemas
• Occasional entertainments

The Licensing Act 2003 changes the existing laws and the type of licences needed to provide any of the aforementioned facilities.

Under the new system:

• The Council, not the Magistrates Court will deal with the licensing of the activities listed above.
• Fixed licensing hours will be abolished.
• All the new freedoms and flexibilities are balanced by accountabilities, new offences and strong enforcement powers.
• Magistrates Courts will hear appeals against council decisions.
• Licensees, the council and other agencies must all work together to promote the Licensing Objectives.

The four Licensing Objectives are:

• Prevention of crime and disorder
• Prevention of public nuisance
• Public safety
• Prevention of harm to children

The licensing authority is required to determine and publish a statement of its licensing policy every three years and is under a duty to carry out consultations on this policy before its final publication.

The aims of the new licensing system are to:

• Modernise and integrate the various licensing systems
• Make applications simpler and reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation on business
• Transfer responsibility for licensing from Magistrates to the Local
• Authority so that local needs and issues can be considered when granting licences
• Strike a balance between reducing crime and disorder, and the encouragement of responsible drinking, tourism and business support
• Strike a balance between the rights of licensees and the communities in which they operate

If you require further information about the act please contact the Council's Licensing team.
licensing@ceredigion.gov.uk