The Licensing Act 2003
Suffolk Coastal District Council is the licensing authority for
the Suffolk Coastal district. The licensing authority issues
premises licences which let different businesses carry out certain
licensable activities:
- Sale or supply of alcohol.
- Provision of 'regulated entertainment' (which includes live and
recorded music, dancing, indoor sporting events, the performance of
plays, and the exhibition of films).
- Provision of late night refreshment (hot food and hot drink)
between 11pm and 5am.
This affects pubs, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, off
licences, members only clubs, cinemas, theatres and late night
takeaways.
Problems with premises and what you can do
If you are having problems the first thing to do is to decide
what type of problem it is. This is because under the Licensing Act
2003 there are four licensing objectives and different teams are
responsible for different problems. The four licensing objectives
are:
- Prevention of crime and disorder.
- Public safety.
- Prevention of public nuisance.
- Protection of children from harm.
Where somebody other than the licensing authority takes the lead
in dealing with a complaint, the Council's Licensing Team will
usually provide a supporting, advisory and co-ordinating
role.
Crime and disorder
If you have any problems related to vandalism, drunken
behaviour, violence or drugs you should report them to Suffolk
Police. If there is an immediate threat to your own or others’
safety you should dial 999, otherwise you should
ring the police on their non-emergency number 01473
613500.
Anti-Social behaviour - you should dial
999 if life is threatened, people are injured or there is
a crime in progress and an immediate police response is necessary.
If the offence has happened and the offender is no longer present,
call the police on 01473 613500 or contact your
local Safer
Neighbourhood Team.
If you are a victim of
anti-social behaviour you can contact our
Community Safety Team on 01394 444763 or email
community.safety@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Information about people who commit crime or anti-social
behaviour can also be reported to the Community Intelligence
Hotline on 0800 783 9112 (you do not have to give
your name and address if you do not want to and calls are
free).
Public safety
Has your safety or the safety of others been put at risk on a
licensed premises or as the result of licensed activity?
For example, were trailing wires causing a trip hazard in the
premises? Was a fire escape blocked? If so you should contact our
Food & Safety Team on 01394 444357 or email
foodsafetyteam@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
If your concerns are about fire safety you should contact
Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service on 01473
260588.
Public nuisance
Nuisance such as
noise, smells or light pollution should be
reported to our Environmental Protection Team on 01394
444624 or by emailing
environmental.protection@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
The Environmental Protection Team can only deal with complaints
about noise arising from licensed premises (including beer gardens,
etc). The team cannot deal with complaints about noise in the
street caused by people or traffic leaving a premises, or customers
gathering outside. If you are concerned about rowdiness in the
street, please see the section above about crime and
disorder.
If you have problems with litter ring Suffolk Coastal
Services Ltd on 01394 444000 or email
scsltd@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Protection of children
Under age sales of alcohol - have you seen
under age sales of alcohol taking place or do you think they may be
happening? If so, you should either ring the police on
01473 613500 or Suffolk County Council’s Trading
Standards Team on 01473 264859 or email
enquiries@tradstan.suffolkcc.gov.uk.
Adult entertainment - some entertainment that
occurs on licensed premises may be unsuitable for children. If you
see children being exposed to unsuitable entertainment (e.g.
entertainment of a sexual or violent nature) you should call the
police on 01473 613500, or if there is an
immediate threat to a child’s well being or safety because of the
situation you should dial 999.
Issues not directly related to the licensing objectives
Often the Licensing Team will take the lead in investigating a
problem. Typically this will be when the problem relates to
unlicensed activities - for example, if music is being played later
than is allowed, or if alcohol is being supplied to customers after
closing time. We may also take the lead if you have concerns about
a licensee’s conduct or behaviour. In these circumstances you
should call the Licensing Team on 01394 444802 or
email
licensing@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Details of the opening hours and permitted activities of
licensed premises can be found on Suffolk Coastal's
register of licences and applications (new
window). Search on the name, address or postcode of the
premises, select 'view details' against the entry you are
interested in and in the documents section at the bottom of the
page follow the link to view a copy of the licence.
How to resolve a problem
If you have a problem with a licensed premises or licence holder
please follow these three steps:
Step 1 - talk to the licensee or brewery
Our experience shows that early contact with licence holders
means that problems can be sorted out quickly. We are encouraging
all licence holders to listen to the concerns of local residents.
In turn we would encourage you to first inform the licence holder
so that they are aware of the problem. Try and give the licence
holder as much detail as possible, e.g. if it is a noise complaint,
the days, times and type of noise that is the problem.
Please note that we only encourage you to discuss a problem
directly with a licence holder if you feel safe and comfortable
doing so.
Step 2 - monitor the situation
If you have spoken to the license holder, wait to see if things
improve. Keep a note of the date and time if the problem happens
again including a description of the problem and how it affects
you.
Step 3 - report the problem
If there is no improvement, or if you wish to report the problem
straight away, make contact with the relevant team and give them as
much detail as possible.
You can download or print off a
complaint sheet (new window PDF 28KB) that
sets out the information required. The form can be posted to you
if you ring the Licensing Team on 01394 444802
or email
licensing@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Once the complaint sheet has been completed, please return it to
the Licensing Team.
Your personal details will not be made known to a licence holder
without your prior consent. You can also ask a representative to
write on your behalf.
Back to Complaining about a licensing
issue