Licensing Act 2003

Licencing forms
Current licensing applications

Darlington Borough Council is a Licensing Authority responsible for administering the Licensing Act 2003.

The Act covers;

• the licensing of individuals for the retail sale of alcohol (personal licences),
• the licensing of premises for the retail sale of alcohol,
• the provision of regulated entertainment or late night refreshment (premises licences),
• the supply of alcohol or the provision of regulated entertainment to certain clubs (club premises certificates)
• the permitting of certain licensable activities on a temporary basis (temporary event notices).

Activities that require a licence under the Licensing Act 2003 include:

• Retail sale of alcohol (for consumption on or off the premises) 
• Supply of hot food or drink from a premise from 11pm to 5am. 
• Supply of alcohol or provision of regulated entertainment to club members.
• Provision of entertainment listed below (known as regulated entertainment) to the public or club members or with a view to profit.
  • a performance of a play
  • an exhibition of a film
  • an indoor sporting event
  • a boxing or wrestling entertainment
  • a contest, exhibition or display which combines boxing or wrestling with one or more martial arts (“combined fighting sports”)
  • a performance of live music
  • any playing of recorded music
  • a performance of dance
  • entertainment of a similar description to a performance of live music, any playing of recorded music or a performance of dance
• The Council is required to keep this policy under review and must publish a statement of its Licensing Policy every three years.

The Deregulation Act 2015 gained Royal Assent 26 March 2015, and the revised s.182 Guidance has now been published on gov.uk.

The amendments made to the Licensing Act 2003 by the Deregulation Act 2015 are:

• The requirement to renew personal licences has been abolished with effect from 1 April 2015.
• The offence of selling liqueur confectionery to children under 16 will be repealed with effect from 26 May 2015. After that date a person of any age can buy liqueur confectionery in England and Wales.
• The requirement to report lost or stolen licences to the police before applying for duplicates will be abolished with effect from 26 May 2015.
• The limit on the number of temporary events that can be held at single premises will increase from 12 to 15 per year from 1 January 2016.
• Changes to regulated entertainment will take effect from 6 April 2015.