In this article Andrew Woods reports that there have been changes to a number of Temporary Event Notices permitted as from 1 January 2016.
A Temporary Event Notice (TEN) is required if anyone wants to carry out a licensable activity on unlicensed premises in England or Wales. This applies equally to premises which do not have a licence or to premises which have a licence permitting licensable activities until a certain time and where the premises licence holder wishes to carry out a licensable activity after the terminal hour stipulated on the licence. Licensable activities include; selling alcohol, serving alcohol to members of a private club, providing entertainment e.g. music, dancing or indoor sporting events and serving hot food or drink between 23:00 and 05:00. A TEN is also required if a particular licensable activity is not included in the terms of an existing licence.
The number of TENS that can be applied for by a single premises increased as from 1 January 2016 to fifteen per year over twenty one days. In respect of non licensed premises a person can get up to five TENs a year. If the applicant already has a personal licence to sell alcohol then that person can be given up to fifty TENs per year. There must be at least a twenty four hour gap between TENs and there must be fewer than five hundred people at all times including staff running the event. A TEN cannot last for longer than a hundred and sixty eight hours (seven days) and the applicant must be at least eighteen.
Any application for a TEN must be submitted to the local authority and police at least ten working days before the event and there is a fee of £21.00. The date of submitting the TEN and the day of the event are not included in the total number of working days before the event. Any application for a TEN must be by an individual. It is now possible to apply for a “late TEN” and the latest you can apply for a “late TEN” is five working days before the event. If you don’t hold a personal licence you can serve up two late TENs per year. If you do hold a personal licence the limit is 10. Late TENs count towards the total number of permitted TENs.
A TEN cannot be refused unless the police or environmental health object to it and they must do so within three working days of receiving it. They can only object if they think the event could lead to crime and disorder, cause the public nuisance, be a threat to public safety or put children at risk of harm. If there is an objection the council’s licensing committee will hold a meeting no later than twenty four hours before the event and at the hearing the committee will either approve, add conditions or reject the notice.
If the police or environmental health object to a late TEN then the application is refused and the notice is not valid and the event cannot be held.
There is a right of appeal against any local committees decision to the local magistrates’ court but this must be done within twenty one days of the decision and at least five working days before the date of your event. In practice there is often very little time for this to happen.
The Temporary Event Notice must be kept in a safe place where the event is held and a copy of the notice must be displayed when the event is taking place.