Licensed premises in South Ayrshire have been warned they could face suspension if annual licence fees remain unpaid. South Ayrshire Licensing Board was told that annual premises licence fees were due by October 1.
Reminder notices sent to unpaid premises
Licensing Standards Officer Catrina Andrew said reminder notices had been sent to premises licence holders and operators who had not yet paid. She warned that any premises whose fees remain unpaid by the end of the month will be issued with a compliance notice.
If licence holders then fail to comply, a report will be brought to the December licensing board meeting seeking suspension of the licence. Ms Andrew urged any business that had received a reminder but believed the fee had already been paid to contact the licensing team as soon as possible. She said: “Please do not ignore the letter.”
Board members stress consistency
Board chair Councillor William Grant said it was important that licensed businesses paid their fees. He said premises had been given “plenty of time” to make sure payment was in place.
Councillor Bob Pollock said the board had taken action on the same issue before and warned that it would be consistent if asked to consider suspensions again. He said: “If any of the licensed premises are in doubt in terms of consistency, we did suspend a number of licences last year for the same reason. There’s no doubt if we’re asked to suspend them again, that’s possibly — probably — going to be the outcome.”
Concerns ahead of Christmas
Councillor Duncan Townson also raised concern about any premises still operating while fees remained outstanding. He said licence holders should know their responsibilities and said he hoped businesses would act quickly. He said: “Hopefully they will get on to them, get to pay their licence fees before the deadline, because I’d hate to see any more licences suspended in the lead-up to Christmas.”
Councillor Grant agreed and said he hoped all outstanding payments would be resolved before the next meeting. But he added that the board had suspended licences previously and would be prepared to do so again if required.
The warning came during a verbal update from the Licensing Standards Officer, which was noted by the board. The board also noted reports on licensing work carried out under delegated powers, including three applications for transfer of premises licences granted since the previous meeting. Members were also given an update on personal licences revoked during the latest reporting period.
The board heard that licence holders who complete refresher training and reapply face a £50 fee for a new application, but no fee is payable if refresher training is completed and submitted to the board in time.
