Wakefield Council is responsible for licensing premises selling alcohol, hot food and drink after 11pm and premises providing regulated entertainment. This responsibility was taken from magistrates in 2005 as a result of the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003, it means that we now decide on all licensing applications by acting as the ‘licensing authority’.

You may feel concerned about the effect extended licensing hours could have on your community and we are committed to addressing those concerns. The information below will direct you through the steps you can take if you feel the granting of an extended licence or a change of use might have a negative effect on your area, you can also find out what steps can be taken if problems arise after a venue has been granted a licence.

Making an representation to an application

Objections can only be made by residents or businesses in the vicinity of the premises, or by a body representing such persons, including residents associations.

The definition of "vicinity" is not clearly defined and if a doubt exists you will have to demonstrate a clear link between the proposal and your quality of life. For example although the premises may be a few streets away it may be that its customers congregate at the late night bus stop near your home.

Representations must be relevant to the four licensing objectives, these are: 

• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• Prevention of public nuisance
• Protection of children from harm

Details of the application will be posted on our web site so that you can see exactly what the applicant claims they will be doing to guard against these problems. Copies of your and other objections will also be published on this web site. Objections may also be made by responsible authorities, which are:

• The Police,
• The Fire Authority,
• The Area Child Protection Committee,
• Planning,
• Environmental Health 
• Trading Standards.

All objections must be made in writing by post, email or fax and should be sent to:

Licensing
Wakefield Council
Horbury Community Centre
Cluntergate
Horbury
Wakefield
WF4 5DA

Tel: 01924 302932
Email: LicensingOffice@wakefield.gov.uk

You may also submit a representation using our downloadable form (see 'Downloads').

Further guidance on making an representation is available from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (see Guidance for interested parties (57kb pdf) under 'Related Links')

Problems with licensed premises

You can call for a problem premises to have their licence reviewed at any time. The Licensing Authority is allowed to change the conditions, introduce new ones or even revoke the licence if the premises is causing a problem.

Problems with noise and anti-social behaviour should be reported to our helpdesk on 0845 8 506 506.

Further information is available on our noise and anti-social behaviour pages (see 'Related Links').

Further DCMS guidance on applying for a review is available under 'Related Links' (see Reviews - Guidance for interested parties (170kb pdf))