When applying for a new premises licence or in some instances of making changes to an existing premises licence through a Major or Minor Variation application, you will need to submit a plan.

Guidance for producing your plan

Although it is not a legal requirement, please clearly mark the boundary of the area(s) to be licensed in red or bold black; this makes it clearer to all the responsible authorities (Police, Fire etc.) who will be consulted on the application.

Plans, for written and electronic applications, will not be required to be submitted in any particular scale, but they must be in a format which is “clear and legible in all material respects”, i.e. they must be accessible and provide sufficient detail for the licensing authority and the responsible authorities to be able to determine the application, including the relative size of any features relevant to the application. There is no requirement for plans to be professionally drawn as long as they clearly and neatly show all the prescribed information.

The plan MUST show

• the extent of the boundary of the building, if relevant, and any external and internal walls of the building and, if different, the perimeter of the premises;
• the location of points of access to and egress from the premises;
• if different from sub-paragraph (b), the location of escape routes from the premises;
• in a case where the premises is to be used for more than one licensable activity, the area within the premises used for each activity;
• fixed structures (including furniture) or similar objects temporarily in a fixed location (but not furniture) which may impact on the ability of individuals on the premises to use exits or escape routes without impediment;
• in a case where the premises includes a stage or raised area, the location and height of each stage or area relative to the floor;
• in a case where the premises includes any steps, stairs, elevators or lifts, the location of the steps, stairs, elevators or lifts;
• in the case where the premises includes any room or rooms containing public conveniences, the location of the room or rooms;
• the location and type of any fire safety and any other safety equipment including, if applicable, marine safety equipment; and
• the location of a kitchen, if any, on the premises.

The Plan may include a legend through which the matters mentioned or referred to in the above paragraph are sufficiently illustrated by the use of symbols on the plan.

Beer gardens or other outdoor spaces for the consumption of alcohol

Consumption of ‘on-sales’ of alcohol outdoors = show an example of tables and chairs etc. and include this area in the red or bold black licensed boundary.  The sale of alcohol could also take place in this area.

Consumption of ‘off-sales’ outdoors = show an example of tables and chairs etc. and hatch this area in another colour to the licensed boundary (label it ‘area for consumption of off sales’).

Applicants may consider whether they might want to use a garden or other outdoor space as a location from which alcohol will be consumed.  The sale of alcohol is to be treated as taking place where the alcohol is appropriated to the contract (usually the bar counter).

In scenarios where drink orders are taken by a member of staff in the garden or outdoor space and the member of staff then collects the drinks from the licensed premises and returns to deliver them to the customer this would be treated as an off-sale and any conditions that relate to off-sales would apply.