Club Premises Certificate

From November 2005 club premises certificates will provide authorisation for qualifying clubs to use club premises for qualifying club activities.

These are the supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to a member for consumption on the premises, or the sale by retail of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to a guest of a member for consumption on the premises, and the provision of regulated entertainment by or on behalf of a club for its members and guests. A club may apply for a certificate in respect of any premises which are occupied by and habitually used for the purposes of the club.

A club premises certificate can not authorise the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises unless it also authorises the supply of alcohol to a member for consumption on the premises.

Definition of a qualifying club

• There must be an interval of at least two days between a member's nomination / application for membership and their admission
• There must be at least 25 members
• The club must be established and conducted in 'good faith' (this involves consideration of details such as club finances)
• That alcohol is supplied to members on the premises on behalf of the club

Considering applications
The Council will consider all applications on their individual merits and will follow the guidelines set out in its policy. How the decision is made will depend on whether there are any relevant representations.

How much does a certificate cost?
For details of the cost and how to pay please see Premises Licence Fees

Are there conditions that apply?
If you are supplying alcohol or exhibiting films the Act requires the Council to apply certain conditions. Other conditions which promote the licensing objectives may be applied based on the facts in your operating schedule.

How long does a certificate last?
Club Premises Certificates do not expire unless you send us a notice of surrender although they are subject to an annual administration fee. The certificate will be withdrawn if the holder of a certificate no longer satisfies the conditions for being a qualifying club. Where this is in relation to an activity it can be withdrawn in relation to that activity.

If the only reason that the conditions are not satisfied is that membership has fallen below the required numbers the withdrawal will not take effect for 3 months to allow this to be rectified.

Notifications
As certificates do not normally expire you are required by law to notify the Licensing Authority when certain changes or proposed changes take place. This must be done as soon as is reasonably practicable. These may be subject to a fee.

• If the club changes their name
• If the rules of the club are altered
• If the clubs registered address changes

These notifications should be accompanied by the Certificate or if this is not practicable with a statement of the reasons why it can not be produced.

If you wish to change any of the details on your licence such as

• The way you operate as set out in the operating schedule
• Change the times or regulated activities you provide
• Alter something specified on the plan provided

you must apply for a variation

What do I do with the certificate ?
When the premises are being used for any licensable activity the certificate or a certified copy of it must be at the premises under the control of the club secretary or a member or employee at the premises who has been nominated in writing. A Notice identifying this person must be given to the Licensing Authority. The summary of the certificate or a certified copy of it must be displayed at the premises together with a notice specifying the position held at the premises of the nominated person in control of the certificate. A constable or authorised officer can ask for the certificate to be produced

Varying your certificate
An application to vary a certificate must be made to the Licensing Authority.

The following documents must be enclosed:

• Existing club premises certificate or a statement with reasons as to why the licence cannot be provided
• A club operating schedule (which is part of the application form)
• A plan of the premises
• The correct fee to cover the application (which can be found on the Licence Fees page)

You must also advertise the application and, on the same day you give the application to the Licensing Authority application, provide each responsible authority with a copy of the application and accompanying documents.

Decision Making
We are required to make our decisions regarding the granting of Club Premises Certificates utilising our policy and having regard to four licensing objectives.

The certificate requested will be granted (possibly subject to certain mandatory conditions regarding matters such as the sale of alcohol, door supervisors or exhibition of films etc or conditions consistent with the operating schedule unless representations have been made by a responsible authority or other "interested parties".

An "interested party" includes:

• Any person living in the vicinity of the premises and/or any body representing such persons
• Any person involved in a business in the vicinity and/or a body representing such persons

Note:  this does not include either a local MP or the local authority.

Representations can be made with regard to the likely effect of the grant of the licence on the promotion of the licensing objectives and/or with regard to the identity of the premises supervisor.  However, representations (other than those from the responsible authorities) will not be considered relevant where the licensing authority considers them to be frivolous or vexatious.

The Council's Licensing Committee will consider these representations with regard to the licensing objectives and may, on this basis, either decide to:

• Grant the Certificate, subject to any appropriate conditions
• Grant the Certificate but exclude one or more of the licensable activities
• Reject the application

Application
If you wish to apply for a license you can either:

• Download the application form from the related page section showing all application forms
• Contact the Licensing Officer for an application form