Premises licence renewal and variation dates
The annual fee falls due on the licence anniversary, and any change to hours, rooms or activities needs a variation rather than operating outside the granted terms.
For venue owners
The licence and safety year of a venue
A venue carries music licences, capacity paperwork and fire safety documentation for every room, renewed on a calendar that does not wait for a quiet week.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What venue owners have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
PRS and PPL music licences
Playing recorded music or hosting live performance needs both licences, with tariffs set by the size of the venue and the way music is used.
Entertainment and theatre licensing
Film, boxing, wrestling or theatre performances and any late night refreshment each need the relevant licence or permission on top of the premises licence.
Capacity limits and fire safety documentation
The fire risk assessment, means of escape, signage and evacuation plan have to be reviewed and kept current for every licensed room.
Health and safety risk assessments
Generic and event-specific assessments are reviewed as layouts, equipment and activities change, with the findings recorded and acted on.
Supplier and caterer contracts
Catering, security, sound and production suppliers run on written contracts with insurance and competence evidence held against each one.
Insurance certificates and renewal
Public liability, employer liability and event cover renew annually, and hirers are usually required to show their own cover before a booking is confirmed.
Accessibility audits
Access for disabled visitors is reviewed against the premises as it is used, and the reasonable adjustments needed are documented rather than assumed.
Booking and deposit schedules
Hire agreements carry deposits, payment stages and cancellation terms, and the venue calendar has to be reconciled against the money taken.
Licensing authority notifications
Temporary event notices, late night variations and any incident a condition requires be reported each carry their own deadline with the licensing authority.
What it costs to carry it
A venue sells dates, and the paperwork decides which dates can be sold at all. The problems arrive together: a hire confirmed without checking the hirer's insurance, a capacity figure that does not match the room layout, a music licence tariff set years ago when the venue was smaller. When a licence condition or a fire assessment lapses, the consequence is a cancelled event, a licensing review, and a room that cannot legally be opened.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Licence and tariff diary
The desk holds the premises licence fee date, the music licence tariffs and the entertainment permissions, and arranges each renewal before it falls due.
Hirer document collection
The desk requests each hirer's insurance certificate and risk assessment before the booking is confirmed and stores them against the event.
Deposit and payment schedule chasing
The desk raises each payment stage against the hire agreement and chases the deposit and balance on the agreed dates.
Safety documentation upkeep
The desk keeps the fire assessment, capacity figures and event risk assessments current and assembles them when a licensing or fire officer asks.
What stays with the venue owner
The owner still decides which events the room takes and negotiates the terms, and holds the judgement call on whether a room is safe for a particular layout. The desk works the licences, the certificates and the deposit schedule around those decisions.
Questions
Does a venue need both a PRS and a PPL licence?
Both are usually needed to play recorded music or host live performance, because they cover different rights holders. The desk records both tariffs and their renewal dates against the venue.
When is a temporary event notice needed?
It is used for a one-off event outside the terms of the premises licence and must be given to the licensing authority and police with a minimum notice period. The desk tracks the notice window for each date.
Should a hirer's insurance be checked before a booking is confirmed?
Most hire agreements require the hirer to hold their own public liability cover, and checking it after the event leaves the risk with the venue. The desk requests it at booking and holds it against the event record.
Put the venue owner's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the venue owner corrects it.