Pub Licensing Laws

[Cacciotti]

Is there anywhere online I can find which pubs in my area (Romford/Hornchurch) have applied and been approved for extended opening hours?

Thanks

[Buenchico]

Unless someone has put up a personal website with this information on it, you won't find these details online.

In most parts of the country, local newspapers have published lists of pubs with extended hours. The staff in your local library should be able to point you in the right direction.

The only other alternative would be to consult the licensing records at the offices of your local council. All licensing applications (and their outcomes) are public documents but it might take a while to work through them all to find the information you require.

In the Havering council area, you probably won't find any really late bars except in Romford town centre. This is because the licensing sub-committee seems to have adopted a blanket policy of closing pubs at 11.30p.m. (12.00 midnight on Fridays and Saturdays) except in Romford town centre. Source:
http://www.havering.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=4098

If you want to drink later, you'll have to move up here to East Anglia. In my part of Suffolk, most pubs are now licensed to 1.00a.m. (3.00a.m. Friday and Saturday nights). Up in North Norfolk, many pubs now have 24 hour licences (10% of all the 24 hour licenses in the country are now held by pubs in this small rural part of Norfolk).

Chris

[dannydingbat]

A few facts from the law.

1. There is no compulsion on any licence holder to stay open during the licensing hours they have been granted. They will close when they feel like it when it is economically expedient to do so.

2. All applications which mean a change to activities and times of operation will require a notice on the premises and in the paper. Back number sof the paper will tell you what people have applied for. However, any comments from residents or other authorities will result in a hearing which will determine what will happen. These hearings result in minutes which are a public record.

3. All licences are available on the public records available free of charge at your council licensing department.

4. No council can have a policy which imposes a latest entry time on any premises. The council must remain neutral and can only act on what representations have been received. Each case is decided on its merits. If there are no objections, the application must be granted as applied for. If there are, the hearing will invite all parties to discuss the matter before a decision is made. Any licensee who is not happy with what they get can appeal to the magistrates.

[citypublife]

Although www.citypublife.co.uk does not have subscribing venues in your requested area yet, we have just asked all subscribing managers to update their opening and closing times information. List is being compiled at http://www.citypublife.co.uk/late%20license%20pubs.htm

Alternatively a list of pubs with late licenses (not yet updated) can be found by area at http://www.citypublife.co.uk/Site/stylefeat.php by choosing the late bar option > location > Get Pubs.

Hope this helps.