As being hamstrung re non amplified music - this appears more and more to be a nonsense. The Act would seem to understand that non amplified music - with an imposed safe capacity limit of less than 200 people etc - does not present a public nuisence concern. BUT....

Conditions on the Act's objective of public nuisence can still be placed on these premises. They will simply be considered not to be effective when non amplified music is to be performed. This is not really a lot of practical use.

[But strangly for premises with an imposed safe capacity limit over 200 or non at all - this will automatically present a public nuisence - even in the unlikely event that an application was ever to be made only for non amplified music.]   

This is rather like saying that anyone who is refused entry on the gounds of their colour or their sex by immigration officials and are sitting outside the country - do not have to worry because these conditions of entry will subsequently not have effect.

The already exessive conditions of the Premises Licence, entertainment permission and an imposed safe capacity limit have already been placed for non amplified music. For the safe capacity limit is NOT set to be automatically imposed on ALL Premises Licenses.

Stand-up drink establishments for example and those providing large-screen football will not need have an imposed safe capacity imposed - for they will not need to apply for entertainment permission.

However, the current custom of automatically imposing this - only on premises applying to provide live entertainment - will just continue. In fact - and this is the danger of this new measure - this practice will have to - as this requirement is written in to the amendment and the only way of seeing if the less than 200 people figure kicks in or not.

But if the public nuisance condition of the entertainment permission insisted on - was a structural one like soundproofing etc - it will hardly be physically removed - should only non amplified music be performed. So stating that this condition was not in in effect is a nonsense

And if it isn't undertaken in the first place - no entertainment permission will be granted and no music - even non amplified will be able to take place..........

Now I can't really see anyone arguing, (even our Gareth) that an imposed safe capacity limit is a most sensible - if not vital public safety measure to ensure that the public are not placed at risk by overcrowing. But the historical idea - sadly enshrined and it would seem permanently embedded in entertainment licensing - that live music is the only activity that gives rise to this concern is plain nonsense - but it just continues in this Act.

So the big question is - if this Act is really about public safety - why are the Government so determined that heavy drinking establishments - the stand-up drinking establishments and the TV football crowds - should NOT have an automatic safe capacity limit imposed upon them as a condition of all Premises Licenses applications?