Chambers' experienced licensing team acts in both advisory and advocacy capacities and regularly appears for licencees on a wide variety of matters, from sting operations involving underage sales to community concerns about nuisance premises. We also handle closure orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
As well as acting for licensees in response to police and local objections we are also on the panel of local authority lawyers for licensing work, the West London Alliance, which consists of eight local authorities in the London area, and our members have acted for a variety of other local authorities besides.
Although much of our work involves liquor licensing, the team's expertise encompasses the full range of licensing law; from the fundamental changes now facing the lap-dancing industry, to obtaining Temporary Event Notices for significant events; from advising about noise abatement, to assisting with applications to operate casinos under the Gambling Act 2005.
Please contact our business development manager, Steve Jones, on 0207 556 5513 to discuss further.
Recent Licensing Update - March 2010:
Fundamental changes affecting all lap-dancing venues will come into force on the 6th April 2010: they will mean that any venue which regularly has a live display of nudity for the sexual stimulation of the audience will have to apply for a new licence. Crucially, the new licence will have to comply with the relevant sex legislation rather than the Licensing Act 2003.
The changes provide far more grounds on which to object to the continued operation of such businesses, with licensing committees able to take account of issues such as the character of the area in which the lap-dancing venue is situated, the use of nearby premises, and the number of similar establishments in a locality when considering whether to issue the licence.
Although it is likely that every lap-dancing venue will have to apply for a new licence in order to stay open, each local authority must also allow applicants to make representations in front of a licensing committee before making a decision. Since applications for licences must be publicised in local papers and displayed at least 21 days before they are made, applicants can expect local communities to be both vociferous and united in their opposition on what continues to be an emotive issue. Without a licence the relevant premises will have to close - we recommend that advice is taken as soon as possible to ensure that all businesses at risk of the changes are protected.
