Licensing

Licensing and Regulatory Board

The Licensing and Regulatory Board is made up of 10 councillors and meets about every 2 weeks, usually at the Civic Centre in Dagenham commencing normally at 6pm.

In May each year, a councillor is elected to be the Chair of the Board. Their role is to lead the meeting and make decisions on matters that come before them.

Agendas and reports|

Registering to speak at a future Licensing and Regulatory Board meeting|

What you need to know

If there is a licensing application to the Board, the Licensing Act 2003 enables persons who are interested parties to make relevant representations about the application.

An interested party is anyone who is:

(a) a person living in the vicinity of the premises

(b) a body representing persons who live in that vicinity

(d) a body representing persons involved in such businesses

These representations must be relevant to the application and can only relate to the 4 licensing objectives they are:

The prevention of crime and disorder
Public safety
The prevention of public nuisance; and
The protection of children from harm

The law requires us to pass your representations onto the applicant, this includes your contact details. The applicant may wish to contact you to discuss your representation.

You will have an opportunity to speak at the meeting. To discuss the details of a particular application, please contact the Licensing Team at the address shown.

The Customer Services Department will deal with any representations from the other organisations we consult, such as the police, fire service, trading standards and so on. They will record the details in their reports to the Board. Depending on what the representations are, the Chair will invite people from these organisations to speak at the meeting.

If you want to speak at the meeting, you should tell the Democratic Services Officer as soon as possible and before the deadline.

The deadline is 12pm on the day before the meeting. Please contact 020 8227 2370 for more information or visit the Registering to speak at a future Licensing and Regulatory Board meeting web page.

On the day of the meeting please arrive at least 30 minutes before the start time (i.e. by no later than 5.30pm for a scheduled evening meeting). You should let the reception desk know when you have arrived.

It is the aim of the Board to limit those speaking to no more than 3 minutes, although the Chair may be able to let you speak for longer depending on the number and type of representations. The members of the Board don't have to reply, but they may ask you to explain in more detail.

Anyone speaking and other members of the public may leave the meeting after the item they are interested in has been decided.

Most of the business will be held openly, but the Board has the right to go into another room for private discussion.

Access to documents

Agendas and reports are available for you to inspect 5 days before a meeting, at the Civic Centre, Rainham Road North, Dagenham and the Town Hall, 1 Town Square, Barking or at any of our libraries.

The details of the licensing applications are printed on the agenda and the information on the proposals.

Copies of the agenda will be available at the meeting. You may take your copy away with you.

Why are some decisions made in private?

By law, some documents on agendas do not have to be published (for example, private and confidential reports).

When the Board wants to discuss private and confidential reports they will tell the public and press to leave the meeting.

What happens next?

After the meeting, council officers are responsible for making sure that any decisions are carried out.

The Customer Services Department will issue a decision notice about each licensing application.

The person or people making the licensing application have the right to appeal to the Magistrates Court and after that, the Crown Court if:

A licensing application is refused
A licensing application is accepted but with exceptions or
No decision is made within 8 weeks

Anyone who has made relevant representations will receive a copy of the decision of the Board. Persons who have made relevant representations can in many cases appeal against decisions by the Board to grant applications fully or in part.

If we grant a licence we can always review it at any time if the activities are causing problems and not meeting the 4 licensing objectives. These are to:

Prevent crime and disorder
Prevent public nuisance
Protect public safety; and
Protect children from harm

When you come to our offices, please remember the following:

There is a no smoking policy in our buildings
Please be quiet during meetings
Please be patient at busy times
Don't bring animals (except guide dogs) into our buildings

Complaints or comments

We hope that you will be completely satisfied with the service you receive. We cannot promise you that the decisions we make will always be the one's you want but we hope that you will appreciate that we deal with matters in a democratic way.

However, if you not happy with the way the process has been dealt with, you can make a complaint. You can get leaflets with full details of how to complain about any council service from all council offices and libraries.

The Corporate Director of Resources will also be very pleased to receive comments and suggestions about Democratic Services. In particular, how you found the experience of speaking at public meetings. Please write to him at the Civic Centre, Rainham Road North, Dagenham, RM10 7BN.

If you have a specific concern about licensing, please contact the Customer Services Department.

If you would like this information on audio tape, large print, or in your own language, please specify by ticking the relevant box, filling in the form and returning it to: Democratic Services, Civic Centre, Rainham Road North, Dagenham, RM10 7BN or telephone 020 8227 2113.

A guide to public speaking at the Licensing and Regulatory Board PDF 454K

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