Are licensed premises causing you problems?

A Licence Review is a reconsidering of the permissions on an existing premises licence or club certificate. This is conducted at a public hearing by a committee made up of three Councillors. Their powers range from deciding not to take any action to revoking the licence completely, with many possibilities in between such as reducing alcohol trading hours or adding operating conditions.

If you are aged 18 or over and you are experiencing difficulties with a particular licensed premises, you can at any time apply for that licence to be reviewed. There is no fee to pay for this, but the application cannot be made anonymously.

The review application has to be made on the grounds of one or more of what are known as The Four Licensing Objectives. These are

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

Application Procedure

1. Complete the Review Application Form.

2. Send the original application form and any accompanying enclosures to: Licensing, London Borough of Merton, 1st Floor Annexe, Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 5DX.

3. Send a copy of all the application documentation to the premises licence holder (or to the club committee if it is a club).

4. You must also send a copy of all the application documentation to each of the following bodies:

The Chief Officer of Police, Licensing Office, Wimbledon Police Station, 15 Queens Road, London, SW19 8NN

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Fire Safety Regulation: South West Area 4, London Fire Brigade, 169 Union Street, London, SE1 0LL

Planning Manager, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Merton Local Safeguarding Children Board, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Chief Inspector of Weights and Measures, Trading Standards Service, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Environmental Health (Commercial) Manager, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Environmental Health (Pollution) Manager, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Environmental Health (Licensing) Manager, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Director of Public Health, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Home Office Immigration Service, Alcohol Licensing Team, Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR9 2BY

Any other licensing authority (Local Council), other than the relevant licensing authority, in whose area part of the premises is situated. (This would only apply to premises located on the boundary between Merton, Wandsworth, Kingston, Croydon, Lambeth or Sutton)

[Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 matters are already covered by your sending a copy of the application to the Environmental Health (Commercial) Manager)]

It is recommended that you send your copies by recorded delivery (or similar), so that you can prove that the requirement has been met.

Notes

• You cannot make this application online at this time.
• It is worth bearing in mind that putting your case effectively is first and foremost a matter of getting the application procedure right. If your application is not correctly made it cannot even be considered.

Contact us

Licensing
London Borough of Merton
Merton Civic Centre
London Road
Morden
SM4 5DX

Telephone: 020 8545 3969
email: licensing@merton.gov.uk