Yes, but you've then got to object to the premises licence. That's much more difficult because a sustained objection is more likely to result in the closure of the premises.

Therefore, brewers will fight that much harder to keep their premises open, and it then becomes a world of solicitors and barristers. Neither set of advocates comes cheap, and if there is one thing guaranteed to put people off objecting, it is the thought of having to pay crippling amounts of money in barrister's fees.