“I am having an event or operating a business with a licensable activity. What do I do?"

Licensable activities can be authorised in one of three ways:

• A Temporary Event Notice
• Premises Licence
• Club Premises Certificate

Temporary Event Notices are ideal for one-off events. They can be granted only for events where there will be fewer than 500 people attending at any one time (including staff) and lasting no more than 168 consecutive hours. Melton Borough Council Licensing department, Environmental Health Department and the Police require at least ten working days notice and the cost is £21. TENs are considered light touch administratively under the legislation and consequently the only requirements for a Temporary Event Notice are a properly completed form and the payment of the fee. However there are limits on the number of TENs any one premise can have and the numbers of TENs a person may give each year. See the separate section on TENs for further information and TEN forms. 

A Premises Licence or Club Premises Certificate can cover any or all of the licensable activities for any number of people, however please note that there is a sliding scale of additional fees for very large events (those for more than 5000 people, which includes staff). The licence can be granted permanently, with an annual fee being payable, or on a time limited basis (to cover for example a large, one-off, weekend event).  This is the sort of licence held by pubs, halls and shops etc. The initial set up costs of a Premises or Club licence can be expensive when you include the advertising

You need to decide which type of licence is most appropriate to you, based on the limitations of each type of licence and your requirements now and in future. There may be some circumstances, for example, in which it would be prudent to apply for a permanent licence for premises, even though a TEN could cover you. If you are unsure please discuss with the Licensing Section, who will explain the options open to you, or seek legal advice.