Order made for extension of licensed hours to celebrate King’s Coronation

The draft Order for extended hours to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on 6^th May 2023 has now become law.

The Licensing Act 2003 (Coronation Licensing Hours) Order 2023 provides for an extension of licensing hours for premises licences and club premises certificates during the so-called “celebration period” on Friday 5^th, Saturday 6^th and Sunday 7^th May 2023.

The Order permits a two-hour extension of licensable activities from 11pm until 1am, but only if the existing hours authorised on the licence or certificate already immediately precede or continue into the extended period.

So, if your licence is authorised until 10.30pm for licensable activities you will not benefit from this extension.  Equally, a premises already licensed until midnight will only benefit from the additional hour from midnight until 1am.  Those premises with licences or certificates that already extend to 1am or beyond will see no benefit from this Order.

All licensable activities already authorised on a licence or certificate are extended until 1am.

An important exception is that the hours for off sales of alcohol are not extended. Therefore, if you have a beer garden or terrace that is not part of your licensed area the Order does not extend to off sales in these areas. Out and out ‘off’ licences are similarly excluded from the extension of hours.

Premises that only provide late night refreshment (for example takeaways and delivery centres) do not benefit from the extension unless they are also authorised for the sale or supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises.

Licence conditions will continue to apply during the extended hours.

Lastly, whilst the Order, as with previous relaxations of licensing hours for special national occasions does not explicitly mention drinking up time, it would be reasonable to apply your existing drinking up time to the 1am extension, so 30 minutes or 1 hour as the case may be.

The Order, which applies to England & Wales, can be found here.

For further information or queries, please feel free to contact Andy Grimsey or any of our licensing solicitors.