Object to a special treatment establishment licence application

To object to a new licence application or the renewal of an existing licence, put your reasons in writing and send it to us. 

You must be clear about the reasons for your objection and include your full postal address. We must receive your representation within 28 days of the licence application being submitted to us.

Grounds for objection

We can refuse the grant or renewal of a licence on any of the following grounds:

• The premises are not structurally suitable for the purpose
• There is a likelihood of nuisance being caused by reason of the conduct, management or situation of the premises or the character of the relevant locality or the use to which any premises in the vicinity are put
• The person concerned or intended to be concerned in the conduct or management of the premises used for special treatment could be reasonably regarded as not being fit and proper persons to hold such a licence
• The persons giving the special treatment are not suitably qualified
• The premises have been or are being improperly conducted
• The premises are not provided with satisfactory means of lighting, sanitation and ventilation
• The means of heating the premises are not safe
• Proper precautions against fire on the premises are not being taken
• They are not satisfied as to the safety of equipment used in the special treatment or as to the manner in which the treatment is to be given
• They are not satisfied as to the safety of the special treatment to be given
• Satisfactory means of escape in case of fire and suitable means for fighting fire are not provided on the premises
• The applicant has, within the period of five years immediately preceding the application to the borough council, been convicted of an offence under this Part of the Act
• The applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of application or has failed to pay the specified fee

Therefore, you should ensure your letter of objection addresses one or more of the above grounds of objection.

Who can object to an application?

Objections can be received from local residents or businesses, the police, the fire brigade, the planning authority and licensing officers.

What happens next

We will acknowledge receipt of your objection and send you information confirming when the matter will go before the Regulatory Licensing Committee. The Committee will consider the application together with any relevant objections.

Notice period

We will aim to begin a hearing within twenty working days of the last date for representations. We will give at least ten working days' notice of the date of the hearing.

Attending the meeting

The meeting is generally heard in public and anyone may attend whether they have raised a representation or not. Occasionally the meeting will be held in private if matters of a personal nature are being discussed.

Addressing the meeting

All those raising an objection can address the Regulatory Licensing Committee directly.

We can only consider documents produced for the first time at the hearing if everyone agrees. However additional documents, for example photographs, can be submitted before the day of the hearing.

Someone else (legally qualified or not) can help or represent you, if you want. You are strongly urged to attend the meeting to get your point of view across.

Personal details

Your personal details are not contained in the public documents produced for hearing, for example the report presented to the committee.

However the applicant will be sent a copy of any objections received in relation to their application, which will include your name and address.

We can, if requested, remove some of the personal details from a representation - for example we could remove the house number from the representation but would keep the street name and the rest of the address.

However, there has to be a good reason to do this. Bear in mind that your representation may carry less weight if your location is not disclosed.

The decision

After the committee has heard all parties, it will make its decision. The Regulatory Licensing Committee may:

• Grant the licence as applied for
• Grant the licence but modify the conditions of the licence or the proposed treatments
• Reject the whole or part of the application

This decision is usually made at the time of the hearing and followed up with a letter that gives the full reasons for the decision.

Appeal

Only the applicant can appeal to the local magistrates' court if they are dissatisfied with the decision.

If the applicant appeals the decision, we may ask you to attend court as a witness for the Council. See appeal against a licensing decision for more information.

For more information please see Rules Governing Application.