High court judge rules interim steps continue pending appeal

It comes after a case where the premises licence was suspended after an interim steps hearing.

At a later stage during the full hearing, the licensing authority revoked the premises licence and said that the suspension should remain in effect until a hearing of the appeal against the revocation.

This decision was challenged by the licensee in the high court through a judicial review. However, the judge dismissed this, saying that the interim steps should remain effect until the time for appealing the review had expired and any appeal had been determined.

Interim steps hearings allow a licensing committee to place further conditions on a licensed premises where they feel there may be case of serious crime or disorder. This will then remain in place until a formal hearing is conducted

According to Poppleston Allen, the judge “refused permission for the claimant to argue that the licensing authority had been wrong in determining that the suspension should remain pending an appeal hearing”.

Licensing lawyer at Poppleston Allen Nick Walton said: “At least we now have certainly on this central and important issue but it is not a favourable decision for independent operators who get into trouble.”

Licensing law firm John Gaunt said the judgement leaves many questions unanswered. It said: “Firstly, licence suspensions can only last for a maximum of three months so what happens if an appeal lasts longer than this - can the premises reopen?

“Licence holders have the right to apply for representation hearings against imposed interim steps (and the Licensing Act 2003 imposes no limit to the number of these that can be sought) and so can these be used to persuade the licensing authority to change the interim steps?

“Can an interim step of suspending a licence continue when at the final review hearing the licence is revoked? The two would seem incompatible.”