Legal checklist: Licensed premises plan

When was the last time you looked at the plan of your premises attached to your licence? Remember that the plan forms part of that licence, and certain prescribed elements always have to be shown on that plan. If you change the location of those prescribed elements then you must vary your licensed plan.

To put it another way, if you trade premises that do not conform in a material way to the plan, you may be breaching your licence.

So what are those prescribed elements and what must you show?

  • The plan must be clear and legible (no longer necessarily 1:100 scale).
  • The extent of the boundary of the building, if relevant, and any external and internal walls of the building and, if different, the perimeter of the premises.
  • The location of points of access to and exit from the premises (including escape routes).
  • In a case where the pub premises are used for more than one existing licensable activity, the area within the premises that is used for each activity.
  • Fixed structures (including furniture) or similar objects temporarily in a fixed location (but not furniture) that may impact on the ability of individuals on the premises to use exits or escape routes without impediment; (so loose chairs don’t need to be shown, but fixed seating that affects fire routes does).
  • The location and height of any stage or raised areas.
  • Any steps, stairs, elevators or lifts.
  • Any public conveniences.
  • The location and type of any fire safety equipment and any other kind of safety equipment.
  • The location of a kitchen, if any, on the premises.
  • The plan may include a legend by which the matters mentioned above are sufficiently illustrated by the use of symbols (this may be particularly relevant to fire safety and other safety equipment).

The above are what is required to be shown on your plan — anything else is optional.

If the necessary changes are minor then many licensing authorities will allow you to continue to trade while you make an application for a minor variation to amend the plan. However, if the changes to your premises materially affect the licensing objectives (for example, changes to a fire escape could impact the public safety objective), you may be required to close until your variation application has been granted — and that could be weeks or months.

So don’t delay in reviewing your premises licence plan. Make sure it mirrors precisely how you currently trade your premises. If it doesn’t, take swift action to apply for a variation.

Related Topics

Licensing Law