Lawfulness of Remote Licensing Hearings Questioned

A south London nightclub (Silks) has, as part of its appeal against the revocation of its premises licence, sought to challenge the ability of the respondent licensing authority (the London Borough of Lewisham) to hold remote licensing hearings.

The decision to revoke the nightclub’s licence was taken following several hearings over Microsoft Teams. Lewisham, like some other councils, have continued to hold licensing hearings remotely despite the High Court decision in R (Hertfordshire County Council) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2021] EWHC 1093 (Admin) which can be viewed here.

A decision is expected in mid-April.

As a Magistrates’ Court decision, it will not be binding on licensing authorities, but it is thought to be the first case in which the Courts have been asked to rule specifically on whether Licensing Act 2003 and the Licensing Act (Hearings) Regulations 2005 permit the use of remote hearings.

We will keep an eye out for the decision when it is handed down.

If your premises licence has been made the subject of a review of a summary review, then it is vitally important that you seek legal advice. The team at John Gaunt & Partners have decades’ worth of experience in handling reviews and summary reviews. Please contact us to find out more.