Licensing Act 1964
| Year | 1964 |
Licensing Act 1964
1964 CHAPTER 26
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the sale and supply of intoxicating liquor in England and Wales and to matters connected therewith; with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949.
[25th March 1964]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
The General Licensing System
Justices' licences and provisions as to licensing justices
1 Justices' licenses.
(1) In this Act and the Customs and Excise Act 1952 ‘justices' licence’ means a licence under this Part of this Act authorising the holder to hold an excise licence for the sale by retail of intoxicating liquor (and also, in the case of a licence granted to a club for club premises, for its supply to or to the order of members otherwise than by way of sale).
(2) In this Act ‘justices' on-licence’ and ‘justices' off-licence’ mean respectively—
(a ) a justices' licence authorising the holding of a retailer's on-licence (within the meaning of the said Act of 1952) that is to say, a licence authorising sale for consumption either on or off the premises for which the licence is granted; and
(b ) a justices' licence authorising the holding of a retailer's off-licence (within the meaning of that Act) that is to say, a licence authorising sale for consumption off those premises only.
(3) A justices' licence shall be in such form as the Secretary of State may prescribe and may authorise the person to whom it is granted to hold as many excise licences as the justices' licence may specify.
2 Licensing justices and districts.
(1) The licensing districts for the purposes of this Act shall be—
(a ) in the administrative county of London, the City of London and each of the petty-sessional divisions of the rest of the administrative county;
(b ) outside the administrative county of London, every borough having a separate commission of the peace and every other petty sessions area.
(2) The licensing justices shall be—
(a ) for the City of London, a committee of the justices for the City;
(b ) for a borough having a separate commission of the peace, a committee of the borough justices (which shall be known as the borough licensing committee);
(c ) for any other petty sessions area, a committee (which shall be known as the divisional licensing committee) of the county justices acting for that area or, if the county is not divided into petty-sessional divisions, of the county justices.
(3) For the purpose of carrying out their functions under this Act the licensing justices for each district shall hold licensing sessions as follows, that is to say,—
(a ) a general annual licensing meeting, and
(b ) not less than four nor more than eight transfer sessions,
in the twelve months beginning with February in every year.
(4) Except where this Act otherwise provides, all powers exercisable by licensing justices under this Act may be exercised at any licensing sessions, but this subsection shall not affect the operation of any enactment in so far as it expressly authorises licensing justices to act otherwise than at a licensing sessions.
(5) Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and procedure of licensing committees and Part II thereof with respect to the holding of licensing sessions.
Grant of justices' licence
3 Grant of justices' licence.
(1) Licensing justices may grant a justices' licence to any such person, not disqualified under this or any other Act for holding a justices' licence, as they think fit and proper.
(2) A justices' licence may be granted as a new licence or by way of renewal, transfer or, subject to section 93(4) of this Act, removal.
(3) In this Act—
(a ) renewing a justices' licence means granting a justices' licence for any premises to the holder of a similar licence in force for those premises;
(b ) removing a justices' licence means taking it from the premises for which it was granted and granting it for other premises;
(c ) transferring a justices' licence means granting it for any premises to a person in substitution for another person who holds or has held a licence for those premises.
(4) Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect with regard to the procedure to be followed in relation to applications for the grant of a justices' licence.
4 New licences.
(1) Subject to the provisions of Part IV of this Act, licensing justices granting a new justices' on-licence, other than a licence for the sale of wine alone or British wine alone, may attach to it such conditions governing the tenure of the licence and any other matters as they think proper in the interests of the public; but no payment may be required in pursuance of a condition attached under this subsection.
(2) Subject to section 113 of this Act, licensing justices shall not grant a new justices' on-licence for premises unless the premises are in their opinion structurally adapted to the class of licence required.
5 Removals.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Act, licensing justices shall have the same power to grant a removal of a justices' licence as they have to grant a new licence.
(2) Licensing justices may grant an ordinary removal to premises in their licensing district from any other premises, whether in that district or not.
(3) An application for a removal shall be made by the person wishing to hold the licence after the removal.
(4) Subject to sections 113, 122 and 126 of this Act, licensing justices shall not grant the removal of a justices' on-licence to any premises unless in their opinion the premises are structurally adapted to the licence.
(5) Licensing justices shall not grant an ordinary removal unless they are satisfied that no objection to the removal is made—
(a ) where the licence is a justices' on-licence, by the owner of the premises from which it is sought to remove the licence or by the holder of the licence,
(b ) where the licence is a justices' off-licence, by the holder of the licence,
or by any person other than the owner of the said premises and the holder of the licence or, as the case may be, other than the holder of the licence, whom the justices consider to have a right to object to the removal.
(6) In this Act, ‘ordinary removal’ means a removal which is neither a special removal (as defined in section 15(2) of this Act) nor a planning removal or temporary premises removal (as defined in sections 121(2) and 126(2) of this Act respectively).
6 Provisional grant of new licence or removal.
(1) Where licensing justices are satisfied, on application made by a person interested in any premises which are—
(a ) about to be constructed or in the course of construction for the purpose of being used as a house for the sale of intoxicating liquor (whether for consumption on or off the premises); or
(b ) about to be altered or extended or in the course of alteration or extension for that purpose (whether or not they are already used for that purpose);
that the premises, if completed in accordance with plans deposited under this Act, would be such that they would have granted a justices' on-licence or a justices' off-licence for the premises, they may make a provisional grant of such a licence for those premises.
(2) Any such application may be made either for the provisional grant of a new licence or for a provisional removal of a licence to the premises, and the grant may be made accordingly.
(3) On an application by the holder of a provisional licence, licensing justices may consent to any modifications of the deposited plans where, in their opinion, the premises, if completed in accordance with the modified plans, will be fit and convenient for their purpose.
(4) Licensing justices shall, after such notice has been given as they may require, declare a provisional grant final on being satisfied—
(a ) that the premises have been completed in accordance with the plans deposited, or in accordance with those plans with modifications consented to under the preceding subsection; and
(b ) that the holder of the provisional licence is not disqualified by this or any other Act for holding a justices' licence and is in all other respects a fit and proper person to hold a...
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