Updates agreed for West Lothian Licensing

A recent meeting of the board agreed to a revised Statement of Licensing Policy, with the main changes related to occasional licences, which allow alcohol sales on a temporary basis.
These include: a default 9pm curfew for outdoor areas; a requirement for non-traditionally constructed premises to declare this and include a noise management plan; and updated wording of the standard local conditions. 
For full details, please visit Review of Licensing Board Policy Statement
A West Lothian Licensing Board spokesperson said: "The new policy has been agreed and contains a number of updates.
"We would recommend that all applicants for licences consider the revised policy before submitting applications."

Other changes to the policy include: 

•    A new section with regard to personal licences including information about the responsibilities of licence holders and the Board's expectations regarding their conduct 
•    A new appendix providing definitions of common terms used in the policy statement
•    A requirement for premises licence applications to identify if premises are non-traditionally constructed and if so to include a noise management plan and noise mitigation measures such as appropriate upgrading works to limit noise when situated in the vicinity of a residential property so as to prevent nuisance to neighbours
•    A minor update to the wording of the Board's default local conditions for outdoor areas operated under premises licences and to apply them to all outdoor areas. The previous policy indicated that the conditions would only apply to those outdoor areas that utilised a footpath
•    The section regarding alcohol deliveries has been amended to require applicants for premises licences or variations to indicate when lodging an application which includes off sales whether they intend to offer deliveries of alcohol and if so to consider including copies of their policies and procedures for deliveries of alcohol with their application