Leisure Sector Update: Proposed Reforms to the Licensing Regime

Welcome to the Harrison Drury Leisure Sector Newsletter. Your regular update on legal developments across the leisure, hospitality and tourism sector. Our aim is to keep you informed, prepared and ahead of the curve with insights tailored to support you and your business.

The government have announced a call for evidence in relation to proposed reforms of the licensing regime.  The call for evidence comes on the back of a number of priority recommendations made by a joint industry and HM government policy taskforce, which included:

• The creation of a new National Licensing Framework Policy which would sit between the act and the Guidance and aim to ensure greater consistency across licensing authorities whilst still allowing local decision-making.
• A licensing condition “amnesty” to modernise and streamline licences.
• Improvements to hearings and appeals including making them more streamlined and ensuring they are backed by clear evidence, potentially by including a minimum evidence threshold for responsible authorities that must be met for a representation to be made.
• Removing the requirement for a hard-copy local newspaper advertisement.
• Improving the potential for licenced premises to better use their outdoor spaces by removing regulatory barriers.
• Increasing the maximum entitlement for Temporary Event Notices for licenced premises.
• Making policies that restrict certain licensable activities in a specific area time-limited.
• Introducing an arbitration, evidence and data protocol for licensing decisions.
• Introducing greater flexibility for licences covering festivals and events.
• Making the agent of change principle a mandatory consideration in licensing decisions.

More information regarding the recommendations can be found here.

The Government is inviting comments from:

• licensed businesses and trade bodies
• local authorities and licensing officers
• police and other enforcement agencies
• cultural and community organisations
• residents’ advocacy groups
• legal, planning and regulatory professionals
• local news publishers
• members of the public

More information regarding the call for evidence can be found here and a link to the survey is here.  The call for evidence closes at midday on Thursday 6^th November 2025.

We have a team of solicitors across a range of legal disciplines all with significant experience in supporting businesses in the leisure sector. Meet our leisure sector team to see how our team can help support you. If you wish to subscribe to our leisure newsletter, please do so here.