Public Entertainment Licence

Changes in legislation have removed the previous exemption for holders of an Occasional Licence  from the requirement to also hold a public entertainment licence. By law it will be a criminal offence to hold an event for which a public entertainment licence is required without such a licence, without reasonable excuse, liable on summary conviction to a fine or imprisonment or both.

Read further guidance about this here.

Please note that this licence runs on a 3 yearly basis, which at present is 1st July 2021 to 30th June 2024. The application fee for a 1 year licence from 1st July 2023 is £175, or £149 for a temporary licence.

Completing your application

How to apply

Apply Online

If you prefer, you can also download the forms:

Public Entertainment licence - application for new licence

Public Entertainment licence - renewal

Schedule of conditions for public entertainment licences

For a new grant application, a notice requires to be displayed on or near the premises (to allow passers-by to view) for 21 days. Once the notice has been displayed for this period, the certificate of compliance requires to be filled in accordingly and returned to the licensing office.

The information you have supplied on this form will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data.  A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found here:

• Privacy Notice - Civic Government Licenses

Applications must:

• contain the applicant's name and address,
• and those of any employee who will manage the activity on a day-to-day basis
• the area in which the activity is to be carried out
• include the application fee

If the entertainment is to be carried out mainly or wholly in premises, the application must also contain either of the following:

• A declaration that you will display a notice at the premises for 21 days, which contains the details in your licence application and details on how to make representations regarding the application. This should be followed by a certificate to the licensing authority stating that this requirement has been complied with.
• A letter of consent from the premises/landowner confirming that they give permission for the premises/land to be used in such a manner.

Regulation Summary          
A summary of the regulation relating to this licence  

Fees

£175 (1 year) or £149 for a temporary licence

Contact details

Telephone: 01546 604128 or licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Argyll and Bute Council
Legal and Regulatory Support
Licensing Section
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RT

Eligibility Criteria

A “place of public entertainment” means any place where members of the public are admitted or may use any facilities for the purposes of entertainment or recreation. 

A Public Entertainment Licence is not required for the following:

1. An athletic or sports ground while being used as such;
2. Premises in respect of which a licence is required under section 41A of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (indoor sports entertainment licence) while such premises are being used for the purposes mentioned in that section;
3. An educational establishment while being used as such;
4. Premises belonging to or occupied by any religious body while being used wholly or mainly for the purpose connected with that body;
5. Premises under the Theatres Act 1968 (Section 1 of the Cinemas Act 1985;
6. Premises in respect of which there is a club gaming permit (within the meaning of section 271 of the Gambling Act 2005), or a prize gaming permit (within the meaning of section 289 of that Act of 2005);
7. Licensed premises in respect of which a premises licence within the meaning of section 17 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 has effect;
8. Premises in which machines for entertainment or amusement are being provided incidentally to the main purpose or use of the premises where that main purpose or use is not as a place of public entertainment. 

If the application is for entertainment that will be mainly or wholly on the premises you must display a public notice detailing your application, in a public place at or near the premises for 21 days from the date the application is submitted. The notice must contain details relating to the application, where objections and representations can be made and how the objections and representations can be made.

If you are required to place a notice you must supply the licensing authority with a certificate confirming you have complied with the requirement.

Voluntary / Charitable organisations

A guide for Voluntary / Charitable organisations

The application process

We will:

• send a copy of the application to Police Scotland
• send a copy of the application to the Officer in Charge of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue specific to the area of trade
• place a notice on the local authority office notice board which states the applicant details contained in the application, that any objections or representations may be made to ourselves, and how they should be made
• keep a register of applications in which we will enter the receipt of the application, our final decision and reasons for the decision, the details of the terms of each licence granted and a note of any suspension, variation of the terms, or surrender, of a licence

The register must be available for inspection by any member of the public at reasonable times and places and any member of the public must be allowed to make a copy of it.  A fee will be required for this service.

Where we fail to make a decision within six months of the application, the licence is held to be granted or renewed.

Appeals

 If you have made an application for a licence and it has been refused

You may ask us for the reasons for our decision to refuse your application within 21 days of the decision date.

You may appeal to the sheriff against the decision, within 28 days of the decision, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

• erred in law
• based our decision on an incorrect material fact
• acted contrary to natural justice
• exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Appeals - Licence Holders

Appeals against the refusal of an application must be made to the Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, Paisley Sheriff Court, St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2AW.

You may appeal if we decide to suspend a licence, not to renew a licence, or not to consent to material changes to the premises or vehicle used in the course of a licence holder's work. You may appeal against the decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, have:

• erred in law
• based our decision on an incorrect material fact
• acted contrary to natural justice
• exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner

You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.

Objections or representations

Objections or representations relating to a licence application may be made in writing to the licensing section, within 28 days of notice of the licence application being given, stating:

• the grounds of the objection or nature of the representation
• the name and address of the person making the representation

Police Scotland, or anyone who has made a relevant objection or representation regarding the licence, may appeal against a decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as they have already followed any available procedure in terms of stating their case to ourselves.

The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:

• erred in law
• based our decision on an incorrect material fact
• acted contrary to natural justice
• exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner