Licensing Prices

The fees for applications for premises licences or to vary a premises licence can vary depending on the complexity of the application, how contentious it is and what the attitude of the local authority is to the application.

We estimate that our fees for dealing with an application for a premises licence or to vary a premises licence will normally be between £750 – £2,000 + VAT (£900 – £2,400 incl VAT). These figures are based on an hourly rate of £250 + VAT. These figures do not include disbursements.

Factors that will affect the complexity of an application are likely to be:

• whether there is a cumulative impact policy in place
• the type and size of the premises
• whether it is in a residential area
• large scale public events

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the application fee. We will pay the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Disbursement	Fee
Application Fee	£190 + depending on the rateable value of the premises
Advertising Fee	£190 - £400
Enquiry agent fee	£50 - £75 (ex VAT)
Special Delivery Fee	£6
Additional printing of plans (if necessary)	£5 - £10

*These fees vary depending on the individual premises and where it is located. The fees can on occasion be higher than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure for each item as soon as we are able to do so.

Our fee includes:

• Taking your instructions and advising you as to how you can promote the licensing objectives within your application
• Advising you as the type of plans you are required to submit with your application.
• Completing the application form for a new premises licence (including the operating schedule) in accordance with your instructions and submitting this to the local licensing authority alongside suitable plans. You must provide suitable plans.
• Providing guidance on the fee levels payable to the licensing authority.
• Preparing copies of the premises licence application for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application on the responsible authorities.
• Drafting the notices advertising the premises licence application and submitting the notice to the local newspaper.
• Arranging with you for you to display the notice(s) advertising the premises licence application and advising as to where and how this should be done by you in order to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003.
• Providing a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) consent form for signature by a personal licence holder proposed by yourself.
• Checking the licence once granted and correcting any errors with the licensing authority.

The fee does not include:

• obtaining suitable plans
• attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities, nor their fee for this meeting.
• dealing with or advising you in relation to queries or representations received from either the responsible authorities or other interested parties
• advising on varying the licence
• attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority. If representations are received and attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee is required then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work which will be charged at an hourly rate.

How long will my application take?

Matters usually take 4-8 weeks from receipt of full instructions from you. This is on the basis of the application being relatively straightforward and you being able to provide all the necessary documents promptly. If your matter is more complex, for example, if there is substantial opposition from interested parties, or if there is a delay in receiving the documents we need, it may take longer