Forgive me harping on about the same subject, but there is no doubt that noise complaints are on the up, even within the pub trade.
Some of this is the smoking ban, of course, but music and entertainment noise can also be an issue, especially as the law has now been strengthened.
Late in 2006, the Noise Act was amended so as to embrace licensed premises. I wrote about it then, but perhaps everyone needs a timely reminder.
It is difficult to tell at this stage which of several enforcement procedures will gain the upper hand. But whichever route is taken is not going to turn out well for the offending licensee. Either your licence or your bank account is going to be at risk.
There are, however, differences between the various ways that noise from licensed premises can be stifled. The amendments to the Noise Act set an actual decibel limit for the noise, metered from inside the complainant's residence with the doors and windows shut. The metering must go on for five minutes before the readings are assessed. Then, the warning notice must give you a specified time to put things right, before a fixed-penalty notice can be given, or you opt to go to court.
So collecting the right sort of evidence is going to be something of a chore for the environmental health officer. But not so much for the police.
They do not need to do measuring. All they have to do is to consider that the noise (merely judged from outside the offending premises), constitutes a "public nuisance". Then they can act.
Fortunately, the statutory Guidance stresses that they must also issue a warning to whoever is in charge of the premises, to give an opportunity for co-operation in cutting down or ending the noise. It is most likely to be entertainment, but it could conceivably be supporters cheering or groaning in front of a televised match. It depends on whether the police think it is a nuisance to people living nearby.
You cannot really argue with a closure order. It is an offence to remain open, and in any event it should mean that the licence will automatically be called in for review, which could result in entertainment being curtailed.
What worries me is the threat, being more widely voiced, of an "inaudibility test" being introduced as a licence condition. Forget meters — if they can hear the music in a neighbour's bedroom, you are up in front of the licensing authority — or even the court.
Q&A
Young person taking orders to chalets
Q. We have a holiday business near the coast, with a number of chalet rooms, which are normally let on a weekly basis. During holidays, my daughter who is 15, sometimes takes food and drink ordered from the bar to the chalets and gives the customers a bill, which they pay. We have now been challenged on this. Is it legal?
A. Without going into the finer points of the Licensing Act with regard to delivery of alcohol, I think you are on the right side of the law, as long as you take one or two simple precautions.
The first one is that your daughter cannot carry out the whole transaction herself (ie, taking an order, pouring or fetching the drinks and then delivering them). She must be supervised in some way if she is personally responsible for the sale, which sounds unlikely from what you write.
If the actual pouring or supply is carried out by the bar staff (ie, she has a ticket or order pad and hands it to the persons behind the bar), there is no problem at all, as the actual sale is being made by that person.
The fact that these persons are resident on the premises (although not necessarily in the licensed area) makes no difference to this part of the law. It does, however, mean that they could in theory order drinks when the bar is closed. So there would have to be a rule that she asks an adult to agree the sale, whatever time of the day it is.
Law on TENs when event involves cash bar
Q. I do outside catering from this pub with temporary event notices, and recently chatted to someone at the hall we use. He was setting up a bar, but said he did not need a licence or anything, because it was a private party. He claimed that no money was to be paid over the bar, but I am not sure about this, as a "cash bar" was suggested. What is the law on this sort of event?
A. If indeed this is a genuine private party with invited guests and the drinks are supplied free at the expense of the host, as is sometimes the case, then a TEN is not required. However, it is true that certain private parties, such as weddings, do have a cash bar that is run either by the caterer or a local licensee. Because they are selling alcohol at the time, rather than merely providing it for the party, then the seller will need a licence or authority to make that sale, which is where the TEN comes in. It therefore makes me wonder why there
was any mention of a cash bar in this instance.
However, in terms of entertainment, live or recorded music will require a TEN if the event is "for consideration and with a view to profit." This is where the organiser sells tickets for the event and then puts on "free entertainment" or a "free bar". Clearly sales are being made, which require an authority of some kind.
If it is a truly private event, then the exemptions provided by schedule 1 of the Licensing Act 2003 will come into play. If no charge of any kind is being made by the organiser, it probably will not need a TEN.
Who is the DPS among joint licence-holders?
Q. If there are three personal licence-holders in one set of licensed premises, who is the DPS?
A. Only one DPS is needed for any licence, so it could be any of them. It is really up to the premises licence holder to say who that person should be.
There must always be a named individual on the licence at the time the premises are open for business. If that person leaves the employment, someone else with a personal licence must be instantly appointed.