Throughout the recession, pub closures have hit the headlines. However, the fact remains that for some freehold owners who want to sell up at the right price and head for retirement, it is still difficult to "de-license" a pub.
I don't mean giving up the premises licence. That is already provided for under section 28 of the Licensing Act 2003. As long as you are named as the actual holder of the premises licence you can send it back to the licensing authority with a note that you wish to give it up. You cannot, of course, simply send back the licence in your possession if the brewery or operating company are the actual holders.
But several freehold owners have contacted me over this time to ask what the procedure is for giving up the business, but staying in the pub as a private house. This is where the problems arise.
It is not simply a question of telling the local authority. You have to convince the planning department that a change of use is necessary — from commercial to residential. This is where both local and national policies come into play. There has to be abundant proof that the premises are unviable as a public house and will remain so in the future.
The fact that you have decided to retire from the trade is not necessarily enough. They may counter with the proposal that another owner will revive and restore the business and that because of the pub's location it is inappropriate to remove it from the commercial category at this time.
There is also the question of rates. Where a business is not trading, some rates relief can be obtained, but again it is not possible to switch to the residential tariff as of right.
All this time, of course, a valuable property for you has in effect no value: you do not want to sell it to someone else and you will not get such a good price if the place is closed anyway. Your capital is tied up.
If you could advertise it with a change of use to residential, it would probably be worth far more on the current market, especially if it is in a desirable location, perhaps in the centre of an attractive village.
All this means that you need to plan carefully and certainly consult an experienced advisor on property matters so that you know how to embark on the planning application. But as I have previously advised, be prepared for a long and frustrating wait.
Q&A
Where do notices go?
Q. We are making a variation of our opening times for this sports club. It is only the clubhouse. Now we are being told that we must put up notices all round the sports ground for our application to be valid. Is this right?
A. I take it that this is a full variation, not a minor variation, if it concerns increasing the hours for the supply of alcohol. In this case a notice on pale blue paper or card must be placed outside the premises where it can conveniently be read (by the public). This means it is important to display the notice in respect of the clubhouse at the place where the entrance to the club joins the public highway, not tucked away at the clubhouse itself where passers-by would not read it.
However, as this variation applies to the clubhouse itself, it is extremely unlikely that the licensing authority would insist on notices being posted all round the whole area of the sports ground every 50m along the perimeter fence. In the first place, much of this appears not to join a highway, but also it is not the sports ground, which is the subject of the licence or certificate, but the clubhouse. As long as the public are made aware of the application, this will fulfil the requirements of the Act and the regulations.
TEN for bring your own
Q. Due to an administrative error on taking over this diner, the premises licence has lapsed. We are told we could get a temporary event notice (TEN) for people to bring their own wine to drink with meals until the new licence is in place. Is this possible?
A. No, it isn't really practicable, or in fact necessary, in this situation. As you are now painfully aware, it takes at least 28 days for a licence to be granted, even without any representations.
There is currently no permission that will give you the time period necessary to cover this, to allow sales to be made on the premises.
In any case, there has to be a gap of at least 24 hours between each of your applications, so every four days you would have to stop selling for one day, or have a completely independent person come in on a separate TEN every fifth day. Too complicated!
But if you are inviting patrons to "bring their own" you will not be selling, so there will be no need for an authorisation. The actual consumption of alcohol on the premises is not a licensable activity. You may charge them a small fee for corkage to cover the provision of glasses and dealing with the wine, but this will not require a licence.
Must prices be the same?
Q. I have a dispute with my business partner over differential pricing in a pub we are interested in. They have a price change on lagers and ciders from the bar to the lounge. I always thought that drinks should be the same price throughout the premises.
A. You may be thinking of spirit measures here. There has been a tradition for the licensed trade to set different prices for parts of the premises, to reflect the amenities and comfort. This has changed in recent years, with one-bar pubs predominating, so that all prices are the same.
However, there is nothing in the relevant price-marking Orders issued by the Government to indicate that it is a legal requirement for all prices to be the same throughout the premises, as long as a relevant tariff or list is available to an intending purchaser in that part of the premises where he places his order.
It is true that the measures for gin, rum, vodka and whisky must be the same everywhere. But that is specifically stated in the relevant Order. There is not a similar requirement for prices.