Consultation on Liquor Licensing (Occasional Licences) (Temporary Modification) Order 2019

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Shelley Walker

(Legislation and Policy Executive)

Legislation and Policy Office

+44 1624 694306

Feedback updated 16 Dec 2019

We asked

The purpose of the draft Order is to temporarily modify section 14 of the Act (occasional licences) so as to enable an occasional licence to be granted for a period of a maximum of 21 days in total from Wednesday 27 May 2020 to Tuesday 16 June 2020, being the TT qualification and race period and adjoining days.

You said

The Department received 11 unique responses to their consultation, of which 7 were consolidated responses that were representative of either the views of organisations and/or businesses.

Within these responses was a reasonable balance of those in favour of the proposed change, and those opposed, along with some views that indicated that the respondents would be in favour of an alternative extension period between the proposed 21 days, and the currently possible under existing legislation without change to law, 14 days.

The views received from 4 individual residents, the majority of whom indicated that they lived in Douglas in the immediate vicinity of an entertainment venue, whilst not overwhelmingly negative in terms of liquor licensing did express concerns around noise levels from these entertainments and the impact of this on residents for an additional week.

Respondent	General Comments/content
Department of Enterprise	Positive
Isle of Man Constabulary	Positive
Licensees Representative Organisation	Licensees Representative Organisation did not support the 21 day extension however were in support of the additional weekend tied to TT period.
Major Brewery #1	Positive
Licensed Business #1	Did not support 21 day extension however was in support of additional weekend tied to TT period
Major Brewery #2	Were supportive of the additional weekend tied to the TT period
Licensed Business #2	Positive
Individual #1	Negative primarily with concerns around noise/waste/crime
Individual #2	Positive around liquor licensing albeit concerns are raised around noise for residents later in the evening in areas close to entertainment venues
Individual #3	Negative primarily with concerns around noise close to entertainment venues, also raises same complaint around noise from fair
Individual #4	Positive around liquor licensing albeit concerns are raised around noise for residents later in the evening in areas close to entertainment venues

We did

On careful consideration of all received views, the Department proposes that 2 days will be added to the standard period of 14 days which may be granted for an Occasional Licence. This 16 day period is proposed from Saturday 30 May 2020 to Sunday 14 June 2020 to include the TT qualification and race period and adjoining weekends. It was viewed that the inclusion of an additional weekend would enhance the entertainment offering for both visitors and residents alike while having the minimum negative impact on local residents.

Future planned action

The Department will also be interested to garner the views of the public and organisations should the proposed trial period of 16 days be granted for TT 2020. Further public communication will be made to facilitate this review in 2020, closer to the TT period, should this Order be approved at the sitting of Tynwald in December 2019.

Overview

We are seeking views on proposed amendments, by Order, to the Licensing Act 1995.

What this means in effect is the short term licence to serve alcohol in a temporary venue i.e. a “beer tent”, “pop-up bar” or similar, that is granted to a licensee around the TT 2020 period when entertainment venues are located in alternative placed than a pub/bar; that temporary venue will be able to open for up to a total of 21 days, as outlined above, rather than the present allowance of 14 days.

Why your views matter

To give people an opportunity to comment on the draft Order and the changes it makes to the Licensing Act 1995.

The Department engages with the licensed trade on a regular basis through the Licensing Forum (which consists of representatives of the various bodies of which licensees in the Island are members). It is recognised the TT period is very important to the trade and so, working with the Department for Enterprise, it is desired to explore ways to enable some of the infrastructure and entertainment associated with it to be enjoyed by visitors and locals alike over a longer period. For this reason the Department proposes through the draft Order to provide, for a trial period in 2020, that the standard maximum occasional license period of 14 days be extended to 21 days to include the days immediately adjoining the TT qualifying and race period.

The purpose of this short consultation document is to gather the views of those who may be impacted by the proposed trial, and any other views from members of the public in general.

What happens next

Following this consultation exercise, any comments arising in response to the proposed changes will be considered by the Department, in conjunction with the Department for Enterprise, and members of the Licensing Forum. Depending on the nature of the responses, the draft Order will either be amended and submitted to a subsequent sitting of Tynwald, or withdrawn. This all depends on the views expressed.

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