Licensing Act 2003 Licensing Policy

1.1Great Yarmouth Borough Council is the licensing authority under the Licensing Act 2003 and is responsible for granting personal licences, premises licences, club premises certificates and temporary event notices in the Borough. Premises licences, club premises certificates and temporary event notices authorise licensable activities such as the sale and/or supply of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment and/or late-night refreshment.

1.2Great Yarmouth Borough Council is situated in the County of Norfolk, which contains seven District Councils in total.

Great Yarmouth has a growing population of 99,800 (2021 Census records) making it the smallest in the County in terms of population. In terms of area it is the second smallest, after Norwich city, covering 17,385 hectares (67.12 square miles). There are approximately 45,000 dwellings, 2957 businesses (ONS, 2021) and 41,800 employees within the Borough.

The mainstays of Great Yarmouth's economy are the port, activities associated with the offshore oil gas and offshore wind industry, tourism, manufacturing (particularly electronics and food production), agriculture and service industries. Many of these sectors have suffered decline in employment and are prone to cyclical and seasonal variations.

The council area is a mixture of urban and rural areas. The urban areas are the towns of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston-on-sea and the parishes of Bradwell and Caister-on-sea. The rural area consists of the remaining 19 parishes. A map of the Borough is attached at Appendix 1.

1.3In accordance with the legislation the Licensing Authority will prepare and publish a statement of its licensing policy every five years. During the five-year period the policy will be kept under review and the Licensing Authority may make such revisions as considered appropriate.

1.4This policy sets out the manner in which applications for licences, which are required by the Licensing Act 2003, will be considered by the Licensing Authority.

1.5The policy will not be used to fix the hours during which alcohol can be sold and, in general, retail premises will be permitted to sell alcohol during the hours, which they are normally open for trade.

1.6This policy statement will not seek to regulate matters which are provided for in any other legislation where the other legislation is the most suitable for the circumstances (e.g. planning, health and safety, employment rights, fire safety etc.).

1.7The Licensing Authority does not to wish to discourage licensees to provide a wide range of entertainment activities within the Borough throughout their opening hours and to promote live music, dance, theatre etc for the wider cultural benefit of the community.

1.8The licensable activities which require a licence under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 and which this policy statement covers include:

• the sale of alcohol by retail
• the supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club, or to the order of, a member of a club
• the provision of regulated entertainment
• the provision of late-night refreshment

Refer to Appendix 2 - glossary of terms for definitions.