Occasional Licence

I recently applied for an Occasional Licence for a garden fete for the hours of 2pm until 10pm. I sent the application to court six weeks before the fete and did not need to attend court. I was very surprised when I received the Occasional Licence to note that it had only been granted between 2pm and 9.30pm. What can I do to get the hours extended?

You can submit another application for an Occasional Licence for the same day. The Licensing Act states that there are two methods to apply for an occasional licence ‹ by post at least one month before it is required or by giving 24 hours notice to both the court and the police. There is no limit to the amount of applications you can make. If you have time to make a further application before the garden fete, the application would be listed to be heard in open court. You will have to attend this hearing which would give you a chance to appear before the justices and explain the circumstances leading to the requirement for the hours until 10pm. You may find that it is your local court's normal procedure to cut the Occasional Licence back by half an hour, which could explain the curtailment of the occasional licence to 9.30pm.

Don't forget that the consumption of all alcohol will have to cease at the terminal hour of your Occasional Licence and that there is no drinking-up time.