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Licensing Fees and Stage Information
As no single licence application will be the same as another, we tailor our pricing to your particular requirements whilst always remaining conscious of costs.
The areas of work that our team will most frequently undertake are:
For details of those in our Team, please click on the ‘People’ tab at the top of the page and then choose the Planning and Licensing option under ‘Find by service’
Below are some illustrative examples of our fees for the types of applications that we regularly deal with. In addition to our fees you will need to pay your local authority’s application fees and, depending on the type of application, you may need to pay for the application to be advertised in a newspaper in the local area in which the premises are situated. All VAT is at 20% rate.
Application for a premises licence (uncontested)
Tozers’ legal fees: £2250 to £3200 plus VAT
Local authority application fees will depend on the rateable value of the premises. They may range from £100 to £635. It may be more depending on whether the premises are in Bands D and E and used primarily for consumption of alcohol on the premises.
Advertising costs – Your application will need to be advertised in your local newspaper. Costs vary significantly between areas but can cost anywhere between £200 plus VAT and £400 plus VAT.
Application for a full variation of a premises licence (uncontested)
Tozers’ legal fees: £2250 to £3200 plus VAT
Local authority application fees will depend on the rateable value of the premises. They may range from £100 to £635. It may be more depending on whether the premises are in Bands D and E and used primarily for consumption of alcohol on the premises.
Advertising costs – Your application will need to be advertised in your local newspaper. Costs vary significantly between areas but can cost anywhere between £200 plus VAT and £400 plus VAT.
Application for a minor variation of the premises licence for a single premises
Tozers’ legal fees: £750 to £960 plus VAT
Local authority fee: £89
Application to vary the licence to specify a new Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS)
Tozers’ legal fees: £125 to £250 plus VAT
Local authority application fee: £23
Application to transfer the licence to a new licence holder
Tozers’ legal fees: £125 to £250 plus VAT
Local authority application fee: £23
Temporary Event Notices
Tozers’ legal fees: £125 to £250 plus VAT
Local authority application fee: £21
Contested applications
If an application for a premises licence or a full variation is contested and the objections to the application cannot be overcome then your application will need to be determined at a hearing of the local authority’s licensing sub-committee. The cost for us to prepare for and attend the hearing on your behalf will depend on the complexity of the application and the likely preparation time.
On recent contested applications our legal fees were between £2500 and £6000 plus VAT and disbursements (such as travel costs to the licensing hearing). This is in addition to the uncontested application fee, local authority licence application fee, and newspaper advertising costs set out above. Once we have discussed the case with you we will be able to provide you with a more accurate fee estimate.
Key stages on an application for a premises licence
- Discussing your requirements with you, opening our file and writing to you confirming instructions;
- Preparing the application for your approval;
- Preparing the notice for the local newspaper;
- Preparing laminated notices for you to put up around the premises;
- Submitting the application to the local authority online. (If submitted online the local authority will notify the other responsible authorities.);
- Liaising with the local authority and responsible authorities regarding any suggestions or objections;
- If there are no objections the licence will be issued by the local authority;
- If any objections cannot be overcome the application must be determined by the licensing sub-committee;
- If the premises licence is refused then we can advise you about appealing the decision to the Magistrates’ Court.
Timeframe
The average time to deal with an application for a premises licence and a full variation is 6 to 12 weeks.
The average time to deal with a minor variation is 3 to 4 weeks.
Applications for Temporary Event Notices and changes to the Designated Premises Supervisor normally take one to three weeks depending on how quickly you can provide us with information.
Hourly rates
Grade 1 - Solicitor and Legal Executives with 8+ years post-qualification experience - £370
- Prepare larger applications.
- Supervise larger applictions prepared by Grade 2 and Grade 3.
- Supervise any work carried out by Grade 4 and Grade 5.
Grade 2 - Solicitor and Legal Executives with 4-8 years post-qualification experience - £350
- Prepare larger applications, with supervision from Grade 1.
- Supervise work carried out by Grade 4 and Grade 5.
Grade 3 - Solicitor and Legal Executives with up to 4 years post-qualification experience - £285
- Prepare larger applications, with supervision from Grade 1.
- Supervise work carried out by Grade 4 andGrade 5.
Grade 4 - Fee earners including Trainees, Paralegals, and Costs Draftspersons - £225
- Prepare application to vary the licence to specify a new Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), with supervision from Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3.
- Prepare application to transfer the licence to a new licence holder, with supervision from Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3.
- Prepare temporary event notices, with supervision from Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3.
Grade 5 - Conveyancing Assistants - £105
- Prepare application to vary the licence to specify a new Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), with supervision from Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3.
- Prepare application to transfer the licence to a new licence holder, with supervision from Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3.
- Prepare temporary event notices, with supervision from Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3.