Premises licence

Community premises can apply for the mandatory alcohol condition on their premises licence, which requires a designated premises supervisor (DPS) for the sale of alcohol, to be disapplied. An alternative condition would be included that "every supply of alcohol under the premises licence must be made or authorised by the management committee".

What is a community premises?

Community premises are premises that are or form part of:

1. a church hall, chapel hall or other similar building, or
2. a village hall, parish hall, community hall or other similar building

If your premises are made available for community benefit most of the time, and accessible by a broad range of persons and sectors of the local community the premises will be likely to meet the definition.

This application can only be made if the licence holder is, or is to be, a committee or board of individuals with responsibility for the management of the premises.

How to make an application

• Download and complete the application form
• Submit supporting documentation (see guidance attached to the application form)
• You will need to submit payment of £23 for the application

Your application must be sent to:

Licensing Section
Cheltenham Borough Council
Municipal Offices
Promenade
Cheltenham
GL50 9SA

What happens next?

Where the management arrangements are not clear, we will ask for further details to confirm that the management board or committee is properly constituted and accountable before taking a decision on whether to grant the application.

We are required to determine the application taking into account any representations from the police.

There are two possible outcomes following the submission of your application to disapply the DPS condition:

1. the licensing authority grants your application
2. the police issue a notice to the licensing authority seeking the refusal of the application to remove the usual mandatory conditions. In this case, we must hold a hearing in order to reach a decision on whether to grant or refuse the application

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for the DPS condition to be disapplied at the same time as making an application for a new premises licence?

Yes you can, but you must make two separate applications, one to get the DPS condition disapplied and another for a new premises licence. (Separate guidance is available for making a new premises licence application).

If you submit both applications at the same time you will only need to pay the relevant new premises licence application fee.

Can I apply for the DPS condition to be disapplied at the same time as making an application for a variation of my premises licence?

Yes you can, but you must make two separate applications, one to get the DPS condition disapplied and an application for FULL variation. (Separate guidance is available for making an application for variation of a premise slicence).

Once removed can the mandatory conditions be re-imposed?

Where a premises licence has had the usual mandatory conditions removed, they may be reinstated if concerns arise over the promotion of any of the licensing objectives. In such a case, an interested party (such as a local resident) or a responsible authority (such as the police) may apply to us for a review of the licence.

At the review hearing the DPS requirements may be reinstated.

Tacit consent 

Tacit consent applies to this application. This means that you can assume the authorisation has been granted (subject to standard conditions that might apply) if you have not received a decision notice from us within 42 calendar days. 

The timeframe above starts on receipt of an acknowledgement.

The timeframe above takes into consideration the need for a licensing committee hearing. Where a decision is delegated to licensing officers, the timeframe for determining an application is likely to be less.