Licensing

If you are organising an event on University premises that involves any of the following activities, you will require a licence from Birmingham City Council (or other relevant local authority) under the Licensing Act 2003: 

  • retail sale of alcohol
  • late night refreshment (providing hot food & drink between 11 pm - Sam)
  • provision of regulated entertainment, which includes: performance of live music, playing recorded music, dancing, performance of dance, performance of a play, showing a film, and indoor sporting events

These are known as licensable activities and the University already holds a number of Premises Licences for certain buildings and areas of the campus permitting such activities to take place upon certain conditions. Where there is no such licence currently in place, for one-off or occasional events you are likely to need to apply for a temporary licence, known as a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). Such an application has to be made by an individual. There are criminal sanctions for holding licensable activities without the requisite licence being in place and so it is vital to make appropriate enquiries at an early stage in the process of organising your event.

Legal Services can provide advice on the licensing process, including:

  • whether you need to apply for a licence
  • University premises already benefitting from a Premises Licence completing an application for a TEN
  • fees that may be payable to the Council
  • what timescales and deadlines may apply.

Further useful information is available on the website for the government's Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and from Birmingham City Council's Licensing Section.