Shambles quoted :-

"Committee chairman Coun Mike Goodman said the committee intended to grant the new hours but with conditions and restraints. He said these would include no live music beyond 11pm except on some Bank Holidays, no recorded music later than midnight, no indoor sports such as darts beyond 11pm, an exit notice asking customers to leave quietly, doors and windows to be closed by 11pm and a record of complaints and any action taken. There will be a 21 day period for any appeal to be lodged."

The Act plainly states that if the premises is licensed for 200 people or less and it has live unamplified music between the hours of 8am and midnight, any licensing authority imposed condition of the premises licence which relates to the provision of the music entertainment does not have effect.

So in this case, if the council grants a premises license which includes music entertainment, and the premises is licensed for 200 people or less, then the council CANNOT impose any conditions for live unamplified music between the hours of 8am and midnight - therefore in this case their condition of no live music beyond 11pm CANNOT apply to live unamplified music, including a jam session of course. The act is clear and uneqivocal on this.

Of course for amplified music in the same premises it is slightly different. Here regard has to be given to :
a) the prevention of crime and disorder,
(b) public safety.

Now, whether noise emminating from a premises can be regarded as a cause of public danger, or a cause of crime and disorder is something the licensing body may want to use, but I think a case can be put up that this is not so and could be used in an appeal.

The main point of all this is that if the premises is licensed for less than 200 people, and that license incudes the provision of music entertainment, and that entertainment is purely unamplified, and it's between 8am and midnight, then the licensing body cannot impose any conditions FULL STOP.

John Barden