Temporary event notice for the Harrogate area

If your event involves activities that require a licence, and your premises (a premises is defined as any place) are not already licensed, a temporary event notice may be required.

Licensable activities include:

• the provision of regulated entertainment - plays, films, live music, recorded music, dancing
• the provision of late night refreshment (the sale of hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am)
• the sale/supply of alcohol

Certain regulated entertainments are not licensable depending on the time of day and audience size. Please contact us to check.

Events that will require a temporary event notice include: 

• extending the drinking hours at an existing licensed premises
• selling alcohol at a premises that is not licensed, for example, having a bar at a village fete or BBQ
• having a live band and DJ at a premises that is not licensed

Yes but a temporary event notice may be required if you wish to extend your hours, add licensing activities or extend your licensed area.

The limitations on a temporary event notice include: 

• no more than 499 people can be on the premises at any one time for each event
• events can last up to 168 hours (7 days)
• a temporary event notice can be given 20 times in respect of any particular premises
• the maximum total duration of the periods covered by temporary event notices at any individual premises is 26 days per calendar year
• there must be a minimum of 24 hours between each event notified by the same event organiser at any premises

Yes, multiple applications can be submitted at the same time but each event requires a separate temporary event notice and has a separate fee payable.

The limits set out above cannot be exceeded.

Anyone over the age of 18 can submit a maximum of five temporary event notices per year and personal licence holders can submit a maximum of 50 temporary event notices per year.

General 

In this guidance, a person who gives a temporary event notice is called a "premises user". 

The police and local authority exercising environmental health functions may intervene on the grounds of any of the four licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm) to prevent the occurrence of an event at which permitted temporary activities are to take place or to agree a modification of the arrangements for such an event. However, the licensing authority will intervene of its own volition in the cases described below.

First, it will issue a counter notice if there is an objection to a late temporary event notice (see note 8 below).

Secondly, it may issue a notice in relation to its decision to impose conditions on a temporary event notice (see note 2 below).

Thirdly, it will issue a counter notice if the first, second and fourth of the limits set out below would be exceeded. If any of the limits below are breached or if a counter notice has been issued, any licensable activities taking place would be unauthorised and the premises user would be liable to prosecution.

The limitations apply to:

• the number of times a person (the “premises user”) may give a temporary event notice (50 times per year for a personal licence holder and 5 times per year for other people)
• the number of times a person (the “premises user”) may give a late temporary event notice (10 times per year for a personal licence holder and 2 times per year for other people)
• the number of times a temporary event notice may be given in respect of any particular premises (12 times in a calendar year)
• the length of time a temporary event may last for these purposes (168 hours)
• the maximum aggregate duration of the periods covered by temporary event notices at any individual premises (21 days per calendar year)
• the scale of the event in terms of the maximum number of people attending at any one time (a maximum of 499)

A personal licence holder can have up to 50 temporary event notices in a calendar year. A person who doesn't have a personal licence can have up to 5. These limits include late temporary event notices. Temporary event notices given by an associate or a person in business with a premises user (and that business involves carrying on of licensable activities) count towards those totals. Note 16 below explains the definition of an associate. 

When permitted temporary activities take place, a premises user must ensure that either: 

• a copy of the temporary event notice endorsed as acknowledged by the licensing authority is prominently displayed at the premises
• the temporary event notice is kept at the premises either in their own custody or in the custody of a nominated person present and working at the premises (a notice explaining this person's position and the fact that they have been nominated must then be displayed at the premises)

Wherever the temporary notice is  displayed or kept, a constable or authorised person (for example a licensing officer, fire officer or environmental health officer) may require the premises user or nominated person to produce the temporary event notice for examination. Failure to produce the temporary event notice without a reasonable excuse would be an offence. 

It should be noted that the following, among other things, are also offences under the Licensing Act 2003: 

• the sale or supply of alcohol to children under 18 years of age (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale, currently £5,000)
• allowing the sale of alcohol to children under 18 (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale, currently £5,000)
• knowingly allowing the consumption of alcohol on the premises by a person aged under 18 (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale, currently £5,000)
• allowing disorderly behaviour on the premises (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000)
• the sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000)
• obtaining alcohol for a person who is drunk (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000)
• knowingly allowing a person aged under 18 to make any sale or supply of alcohol unless the sale or supply has been specifically approved by the premises user or any individual aged 18 or over who has been authorised for this purpose by the premises user (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 1 on the standard scale, currently £200)
• knowingly keeping or allowing to be kept on the premises any smuggled goods which have been imported without payment of duty or which have otherwise been unlawfully imported (maximum fine on conviction is a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000)
• where the premises are to be used primarily or exclusively for the sale or supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises, to allow children under 16 to be present when the premises are open for that purpose unless accompanied by an adult (the penalty on conviction is a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000)
• in the case of any premises at which sales or supplies of alcohol are taking place at all, it is an offence for a child under 16 to be present there between the hours of midnight and 5am unless accompanied by an adult (the penalty on conviction is a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000)

Note 1

A temporary event notice may only be given by an individual. It cannot be given by an organisation, club or business. The individual giving the notice is the proposed "premises user". Within businesses, clubs or organisations, one individual will need to be identified as the proposed premises user. 

If you include an email address in section 1(7) or 1(9), the licensing authority may use this to send acknowledgement of receipt of your notice or any notice or counter notice it is required to give under sections 104A, 106A or 107 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Note 2

For the purposes of the Licensing Act 2003, "premises" means any place. Premises will not always be a building with a formal address and postcode. Premises can include, for example, public parks, recreation grounds and private land. 

If you are applying for a temporary event notice for an event at a premises (or on part of a premises) which has a premises licence or club premises certificate then the conditions which apply to the premises licence or club premises certificate may also be applied to your temporary event notice. This will be the case if the police or the local authority exercising environmental health functions object to the notice and the licensing authority decides:

• not to give a counter notice under section 105 of the Licensing Act 2003 
• that the conditions apply to the licence or certificate
• that imposing the conditions on the notice would not be inconsistent with the carrying on of the licensable activities under the notice

Note 3

A temporary event notice can be given for part of a building, such as a single room, or a plot within a larger area of land. You should provide a clear description of the area in which you propose to carry on licensable activities. This is important because any licensable activities conducted outside the area of the premises protected by the authority of this temporary event notice would be unlawful and could lead to prosecution. 

During the event, the premises user needs to be able to restrict the number of people on the premises at any one time when licensable activities are taking place to fewer than 500. If more than 499 people are on the premises when licensable activities are taking place, the licensable activity would be unlawful and the premises user would be liable to prosecution. The maximum number of 499 includes, for example, staff, organisers, stewards and performers. 

Note 4

A description of the nature of the premises helps the chief officer of police and the local authority exercising environmental health functions to decide if there are likely to be any issues relating to the licensing objectives. You should state clearly that the premises to be used are, for example, a public house, a restaurant, an open field, a village hall or a beer tent. 

Note 5

A description of the nature of the event helps the chief officer of police and the local authority exercising environmental health functions to decide whether or not to make an objection. You should clearly state that the event taking place at the premises would be, for example, a wedding with a pay bar, the supply of beer at a particular farmer's market, a discotheque, the performance of a string quartet, a folk group or a rock band. 

Note 6

The licensable activities are: 

• the sale by retail of alcohol 
• the supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to, or to the order of, a member of a club
• the provision of regulated entertainment
• the provision of late night refreshment

Note 7

Regulated entertainment (subject to specified conditions and exemptions) includes:

1. a performance of a play
2. an exhibition of a film
3. an indoor sporting event
4. a boxing or wrestling entertainment
5. a performance of live music
6. any playing of recorded music
7. a performance of dance
8. entertainment of a similar description to 5, 6 or 7

In terms of specific regulated entertainments, please note that:

Plays - no licence is required for performances between 8am and 11pm on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 500 people. 

Films - no licence is required for 'not-for-profit' film exhibitions held in community premises between 8am and 11pm on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 500 people and the organiser:

1. gets consent to the screening from a person who is responsible for the premises
2. ensures that each such screening abides by age classification ratings

Indoor sporting events - no licence is required for performances between 8am and 11pm on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 1000 people.

Boxing or wrestling entertainment - no licence is required for a contest, exhibition or display of Greco-Roman wrestling, or freestyle wrestling between 8am and 11pm on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 1000 people. Combined fighting sports (defined as a contest, exhibition or display which combines boxing or wrestling with one or more martial arts) are licensable as a boxing or wrestling entertainment rather than an indoor sporting event.

Live music - no licence permission is required for: 

• a performance of unamplified live music between 8am and 11pm on any day, on any premises
• a performance of amplified live music between 8am and 11pm on any day on premises authorised to sell alcohol for consumption on those premises, provided that the audience does not exceed 500 people
• a performance of amplified live music between 8am and 11pm on any day, in a workplace that is not licensed to sell alcohol on those premises, provided that the audience does not exceed 500
• a performance of amplified live music between 8am and 11pm on any day, in a church hall, village hall, community hall, or other similar community premises, that is not licensed by a premises licence to sell alcohol, provided that:

1. the audience does not exceed 500
2. the organiser gets consent for the performance from a person who is responsible for the premises

• a performance of amplified live music between 8am and 11pm on any day, at the non-residential premises of:
  • a local authority
  • a school
  • a hospital

    provided that:
     

  1. the audience does not exceed 500 people
  2. the organiser gets consent for the performance on the relevant premises from either the local authority, the school or the health care provider for the hospital

Recorded music - no licence permission is required for: 

• any playing of recorded music between 8am and 11pm on any day on premises authorised to sell alcohol for consumption on those premises, provided that the audience does not exceed 500 people
• any playing of recorded music between 8am and 211pm on any day, in a church hall, village hall, community hall, or other similar community premises, that is not licensed by a premises licence to sell alcohol, provided that:

1. the audience does not exceed 500 people
2. the organiser gets consent for the performance from a person who is responsible for the premises

• any playing of recorded music between 8am and 11pm on any day, at the non-residential premises of:
  • a local authority
  • a school
  • a hospital

    provided that:
     

  1. the audience does not exceed 500 people
  2. the organiser gets consent for the performance on the relevant premises from either the local authority, the school or the health care provider for the hospital

Dance - no licence is required for performances between 8am and 11pm on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 500 people. However, a performance which amounts to adult entertainment remains licensable. 

Cross activity exemptions - no licence is required between 8am and 11pm on any day, with no limit on audience size for:

• any entertainment taking place on the premises of the local authority where the entertainment is provided by or on behalf of the local authority
• any entertainment taking place on the hospital premises of the health care provider where the entertainment is provided by or on behalf of the health care provider
• any entertainment taking place on the premises of the school where the entertainment is provided by or on behalf of the school proprietor
• any entertainment (excluding films and a boxing or wrestling entertainment) taking place at a travelling circus, provided that:

1. it takes place within a moveable structure that accommodates the audience
2. that the travelling circus has not been located on the same site for more than 28 consecutive days

If you are uncertain whether or not the activities that you propose are licensable, you should contact us for further advice. 

Note 8

Late notices can be given no later than 5 working days but no earlier than 9 working days before the event the notice is for. A late notice given later than 5 working days before the event will be returned as void and the activities described in it will not be authorised. 

The number of late notices that can be given in any one calendar year is limited to 10 for personal licence holders and 2 for non-personal licence holders. These count towards the total number of temporary event notices that can be given in one year (50 for personal licence holders and 5 for non-personal licence holders).

If there is an objection from either the police or the local authority exercising environmental health functions, the event will not go ahead and a counter notice will be issued. 

Note 9

The maximum period for using premises for licensable activities under the authority of a temporary event notice is 168 hours (7 days).

Note 10

You should state here the times during the event period when you intend to carry on licensable activities. For example, if your event period is 48 hours but you only intend to sell alcohol between 8pm and 11pm on each of the two days. 

Note 11

There can't be more than 499 people on the premises for a temporary event at any one time when licensable activities are being carried on. If you intend to have more than 499 people attending the event, you should get a premises licence for the event. The licensing authority can advise you. 

The maximum number of 499 does not include just the audience, spectators or consumers. It also includes, for example, staff, organisers, stewards and performers who will be on the premises. 

Note 12

If you indicate that alcohol will only be supplied for consumption on the premises, you must make sure that no person leaves the premises with alcohol that was supplied there. If this takes place, the premises user may be liable to prosecution for carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity.

Similarly, if you indicate that supplies of alcohol will only be consumed off the premises, you must make sure that no alcohol supplied is consumed on the premises. 

The premises user is free to give notice that they intend to carry on both types of alcohol supplies. In this case the supply of alcohol includes both of the first two licensable activities listed in note 6. 

Note 13

Relevant entertainment is defined in the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 ("the 1982 Act") as: 

any live performance or any display of nudity which is of such a nature that, ignoring financial gain, it must reasonably be assumed to be provided solely or principally for the purpose of sexually stimulating any member of the audience (whether by verbal or other means).

Relevant entertainment therefore includes, but is not limited to, lap dancing and pole dancing. 

The 1982 Act requires premises which provide relevant entertainment to be licensed under that Act for this purpose. 

Premises are exempt from the requirement to obtain a licence under the 1982 Act if all of the following conditions are met: 

• there have not been more than 11 occasions on which such entertainment has been provided within a period of 12 months at the premises
• no such occasion has lasted for more than 24 hours
• there has been a period of at least one month between each such occasion

Such premises are likely instead to require an authorisation under the Licensing Act 2003 to be used for such activities as these are a licensable activity (the provision of regulated entertainment - see note 6 above). A temporary event notice may be given for this purpose.

Note 14

The holder of a valid personal licence issued under the Licensing Act 2003 may give up to 50 temporary event notices in any calendar year subject to the other limitations in the 2003 Act. A proposed premises user who holds such a licence should give the details requested.

Note 15

A calendar year is the period between 1 January and 31 December inclusive in any year.

A valid personal licence holder (issued under the Licensing Act 2003) can give up to 50 temporary event notices (including 5 late notices) in any calendar year. An individual who does not hold a personal licence can only give up to 5 temporary event notices (including 2 late notices) in any calendar year. Temporary event notices given by an associate or a person in business with a premises user (and that business involves carrying on of licensable activities) count towards those totals.

If an event covers two calendar years, it will count against the limits on temporary event notices for each year. However, only one notice needs to be given. The limits are:

• 15 events in a calendar year for each premises
• 26 days in a calendar year for each premises
• 50 notices per personal licence holder each calendar year
• 5 notices for non-personal licence holders each calendar year

There must be a gap of 24 hours between temporary event notices being issued for events at the same premises to the same premises user. If this requirement for a gap of 24 hours between events is not met, the temporary event notice given would be void and any licensable activities carried on under it would be unlicensed.

Temporary event notices given by an associate or a person in business with a premises user (and that business involves carrying on licensable activities) count as if they are given by the premises user themselves and must still fulfil the requirement of a 24 hour gap between events. 

Note 16

An "associate" of the proposed premises user can be: 

1. the spouse of that person
2. a child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother or sister of that person
3. an agent or employee of that person
4. the spouse of a person included in 2 or 3

For these purposes, a person living with another as that person's husband or wife is to be treated as that person's spouse.

Note 17

You must send at least one copy of this notice to the licensing authority at least 10 working days (or 5 working days for a late notice) before the start of the proposed licensable activities. The authority will give you written acknowledgement of the receipt of the notice. This will be important proof that you gave the notice and when you gave it for the purposes of the Act. 

Some premises may be situated in two licensing areas. For example, where a building or field straddles the local authority boundary. In this case, at least one copy of the notice must be sent to each of the licensing authorities identified, together with the appropriate fee for each of them. In these circumstances, you will receive acknowledgement from all the relevant licensing authorities. 

One copy must be sent to both the chief officer of police and the local authority exercising environmental health functions for the area in which the premises is situated at least 10 working days for a standard notice (or 5 working days for a late notice) before the start of the proposed licensable activities. Where the premises are situated in two police areas or environmental health areas, a further copy will need to be sent to the second police force and local authority. 

Note 18

Under the Licensing Act 2003, all temporary event notices are given subject to a mandatory condition requiring that where the licensable activities involve the supply of alcohol, all such supplies must be made by or under the authority of the named premises user. If there is a breach of this condition, the premises user and the individual making the supply in question would be liable to prosecution. For this purpose the supply of alcohol includes both of the first two licensable activities listed in note 6. 

Note 19

It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in, or in connection with, a temporary event notice. A person is to be treated as making a false statement if he produces, furnishes, signs or otherwise makes use of a document that contains a false statement. To do so could result in prosecution and a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Note 20

You should not complete section 10 of the notice, which is for use by the licensing authority. It may complete this section as one means of giving you written acknowledgement of the receipt of the notice.