Liquor Licensing in Northern Ireland

‘Quinquennial’ – not a word we use very often but one which should currently (as of 2022) be very much on the minds of professionals and businesses in the ‘Liquor Licensing’ arena. Indeed, if you're reading this in 2027 or 2032 then it should still be high on your list of priorities.

The Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 sets out the Licensing Period as being “a period of 5 years beginning on 1st October 1997 or any quinquennial of that date”. Well guess what – those years are all such quinquennials.

The time-limited duration of Liquor Licences can be easily overlooked by licence holders, undoubtedly due to other commercial and operational pressures, in much the same way as we see these pressures leading to lapsed Fire Risk Assessments, electrical certification, etc; but the licensing cycle is an important time for Licence holders.

Exceptions to the rule

Many businesses may find that an application for renewal of their licence is sufficiently straight-forward to be undertaken as an administration task, with the application served upon, and to be decided by, the clerk of petty sessions. However, there are exceptions to the instances in which the clerk can renew a licence, and in these cases they must require the application to be made to the court.

Such exceptions are well set out in the Licensing Order and include, amongst others, those instances where the premises have been altered since the licence was granted or last renewed.

Lost sales

Relevant alterations include those which increase, change, or indeed conceal, the areas in which alcohol is served or consumed, or which affect circulation areas.

At 9yards we see applications for such alterations quite frequently, as it is a regulatory requirement that these applications include a plan showing the alterations – effectively a revised Liquor Licence plan – and at 9yards we excel at these. Unfortunately we don’t only see them at renewal time but rather when the business is being sold or the licence is being transferred. And in the same way that illegal building works requiring rectification or regularisation at sale stage lead to delays, renegotiations and lost sales, so the discrepancies in Liquor Licences can lead to the same problems; except, of course, that the courts don’t move as fast as your local Building Control office.

But even at renewal such changes can cause major issues and can invalidate an existing licence. If you're in a renewal year (remember, 2022, 2027, 2032, etc) then tme really is of the essence if you’ve made alterations to your licensed premises – you need to act fast to establish the most efficient way through the renewal process, whether this is a Consent to Alterations application or a new grant application.

Revised Liquor Licence Plan

So, if you’re in any doubt about whether you need your Licence or plans amended or updated before the next quinquennial we would highly recommend that you discuss this with your solicitor as a matter of urgency. You might then also need the services of a Designer and Expert Witness, in which case 9yards Property Ltd would be happy to put the weight of our Chartered Building Consultancy behind your application. Get in touch at 9yards.co.uk.