Top tips: ‘freedom day’ and beer festivals

It may be that as an operator, you are considering running different types of events to not only boost trade, but to attract both existing and new customers back into your venue – this could be, for example, by way of a beer or food festival at your premises.

These types of events do generally prove to be popular and so while they are a good idea to boost trade, there are a lot of things to consider including ensuring that the event is well planned and goes smoothly without any issues on the day and that no problems arise afterwards from the event taking place.

Therefore, below are some top tips highlighting things to consider when making the decision to hold such an event:

Licensing

You firstly need to ensure that you are licensed to do what you would like to do in the location you would like to do it. If the area is already licensed, then you should review your premises licence to ensure that there are no conditions on there which would prevent you doing what you want to do. You should also consider what licensable activities are permitted and their hours. 

If the area is not licensed, or you would be looking to trade extended hours or have additional licensable activities not permitted by your licence, then you would need to consider how you would obtain permission for this. It could be by way of a new premises licence, variation to your existing premises licence or by way of a temporary event notice.

Noise

You will be hoping that the event will attract a large number of customers and if you are proposing to offer music or entertainment then noise should be a key consideration – especially if the event is going to take place in an external space or marquee for example.

You should consider in advance how you are going to manage noise from the event and this could include staff regularly monitoring noise levels, dispersal of customers and ticketing the event to manage customer numbers effectively.

You may want to consider speaking to your local environmental health officer to discuss the event and your proposals before the event takes place so they are aware and can provide any advice or recommendations. They could close down the event if there is too much noise and so you definitely want to ensure you have them onside.

If your premises is in a residential area, then you may also want to consider speaking to the residents in advance of the event so they are aware what is happening, and you can discuss any concerns and perhaps invite them to the event.

Risk assessments

You should ensure that in advance of the event all of the required risk assessments have been carried out. These include health and safety, fire safety and dealing with noise issues. 

This should ensure the event can go ahead without issue and depending on your licensing position may also form part of any licensing application.

Staff levels

You should consider customer numbers and any additional staff that may be required for the event – both in terms of the staff serving the customers and security for the event to ensure that you have adequate numbers.

You may consider allowing external companies/staff to sell their alcohol at your event under the authorisation of your premises licence. If you do this then you should be careful. You need to ensure that all staff are appropriately trained as it would be you as the premises licence holder that could be prosecuted for any underage sales.

This is not a complete list, but some of the key points to consider when looking to hold such an event, other things to consider may include how customers will pay for their drinks and the measures the drinks will be served in.

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