The government’s roadmap out of lockdown includes the re-opening of licensed premises for outdoor dining and drinking from 12 April and groups of up to six indoors, from 17 May.

Are you prepared?

Is your Premises Licence fit for purpose?

• You may be able to sell alcohol outside your red line boundary until 30 September 2021, but you will need to vary your licence to make this a permanent change. Think about any other changes you want to make to your premises licence at the same time.
• If you intend to extend any hours or activities speak to us about any licensing changes you need.

Fire risk – Is your fire risk assessment up to date?

• You may need to review capacity levels or amend your assessment to include new areas.

Is the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) still working at the premises?

• COVID-19 has led to a rise in staff turnover. The DPS named on the licence needs to be the person with day-to-day responsibility.

Are you a landlord of a licensed premises?

• If you are a landlord and your tenant has left the site, you should take steps to retain the premises licence and ensure that it does not lapse.

Other things to consider

Temporary pavement licences

• Businesses may obtain a licence to place temporary furniture, such as tables and chairs outside of cafes, bars, and restaurants. Would this help your premises to serve more customers whilst maintain social distancing?

Is your outdoor area actually ‘outdoors’?

• The definition of ‘outdoors’ is the same as the law for smoking shelters. This means that any structure with a roof must have at least 50% of the sides open to be classed as outdoors.

Download a copy of our licensed premises flyer

Need some guidance? We can assist with new applications, variations to existing licences and enforcement action taken by the licensing authority. Get in touch.