Scottish hospitality properties for sale in Scotland
Licensees: Get Your Layout Plan Right First Time
Time is fast running out for licensees as the drawn-out process of licensing reform in Scotland grinds its way to a conclusion, and everyone involved in the trade ought to be aware of the upcoming deadlines.
Alan Jeffrey outlines the importance of adhering to the licensing timetables…
The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 came into force on February 1 this year and will be fully implemented by September 2009. The intervening months will be a transitional period when its provisions and those of its predecessor will run in tandem.
Essentially, several different types of licenses are being replaced by a Premises Licence and a Personal Licence, which will be held by a designated premises manager. The application for a Premises Licence will have to be accompanied by an operating plan and a layout plan.
The operating plan will have to include minute details concerning hours, activities and provisions for children, while the layout plan should also include precise details on where alcohol can be sold, exact dimensions of the premises, etc.
Applications have to be made in the month of the expiry of your licence – not the year – and strict deadlines apply:
For June expiries, for example, the date is June 6, 2008; for October expiries, October 3, 2008; and for January expiries, January 16, 2009.
So, what happens if you don’t meet the deadline? Quite simply, your application will be treated as new, and you will lose all the ‘grandfather rights’ associated with the original. This means that you will have to reapply for planning consents, building control, food- hygiene certification and police consents.
The professional costs of reapplication will be daunting enough, and there are other concerns to take into account also; say, for instance, a major pub chain has successfully applied for a licence in the area, it is perfectly possible that your application could be rejected on the legitimate grounds of over-provision.
It is therefore imperative that you meet your deadline. Most solicitors who specialise in the licensed trade have already geared up for an expected rush of applications as the relevant dates loom, but finding professionals to create a compliant layout plan could be problematic. It should be remembered that these plans relate not only to pubs and off-licences, but also to convenience stores, supermarkets, clubs, golf clubs or anywhere else that sells alcohol.
The layout plan must include the following information:
- Dimensions and location of doorways
- Escape routes & fire-fighting provision
- Names of streets with access to the premises
- Dimensions of the building, including exterior drinking provision
- Toilets and areas specifically for children and to which children have access
On-trade businesses will have to carefully delineate which areas of the premises will be used for the activities described in the Operating Plan, while off-trade premises will have to provide detailed measurements regarding display. This is designed to discourage impulse-buying of alcohol.
If people do not act swiftly and effectively to comply with the new provisions of the Licensing Act, there is a serious possibility that they could put their businesses at risk.
Specialist cross-discipline knowledge will be required to handle the applications, and responsible surveyors have made provision for the layout plan requirements to be fulfilled.
Licensees have to realise that the clock is ticking. The Act is one of the most radical shake-ups in licensing law in decades, and now is the time to get it right.
DM Hall has 30 branches across Scotland and provides a full architectural service through their property services department.
Alan Jeffrey is Head of Property Services Department at DM Hall
This article has been edited from its original version. For the complete feature, please see Catering in Scotland magazine May/June 2008.
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