The licensing authority has called a review, the hearing is in three weeks, and we do not know what good looks like.
A licence review is decided on the papers and on the hearing, and both are usually lost before anybody walks into the room. We prepare the representations, build the evidence of the steps you have taken, and represent you at the sub-committee.
Dinmore Bell prepares and presents licensing cases for premises licences under the Licensing Act 2003 and for taxi and private hire licensing. Sub-committee hearings are administrative and require no rights of audience, so Dinmore Bell appears directly. Appeals lie to the Magistrates’ Court, where specialist licensing counsel are instructed.
How we own it
Premises licences under the 2003 Act
Reviews brought by the police, environmental health or a responsible authority, and applications for variation, transfer and new grants. We answer the licensing objectives directly and propose the conditions we would rather have than the ones we would be given.
Taxi and private hire
Driver and operator licence reviews, suspensions and refusals. These turn on the fit-and-proper test and on the account you can give of what changed, which is a document exercise long before it is an advocacy one.
The hearing, and what comes after
We appear at the licensing sub-committee, negotiate conditions with the responsible authorities beforehand where that produces a better outcome, and run the compliance the decision leaves behind.
Where specialists come in
Licensing sub-committee hearings are administrative proceedings and do not require rights of audience; we represent you at them directly. An appeal against a licensing decision lies to the Magistrates’ Court, where we instruct and control specialist licensing counsel. We do not conduct litigation and have no rights of audience.
Sectors we run this for
Related insights
All insights →The letter before action, and what it actually buys you
Most disputes are settled by the quality of the first letter, not by the threat at the end of it.
Where nine per cent of your revenue goes
Contract value rarely leaks in a single expensive event. It leaks quietly, through renewal dates nobody owns.
- Can Dinmore Bell represent us at a licensing hearing?
- Yes. Licensing sub-committee hearings are administrative proceedings and do not require rights of audience, so we prepare the representations and appear on your behalf. Appeals to the Magistrates’ Court are handled by instructed specialist counsel whom we coordinate.
- Which licences do you cover?
- Premises licences under the Licensing Act 2003, including reviews, variations, transfers and new grants; and taxi and private hire driver and operator licensing, including reviews, suspensions and refusals.
- What happens if the decision goes against us?
- An appeal lies to the Magistrates’ Court. We assess the merits, instruct specialist licensing counsel, hold the budget and remain accountable for the commercial outcome. We do not conduct litigation ourselves.