Published: by Suraj Desor
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Your guide to temporary event notices
What are Temporary Event Notices
Temporary Event Notices, known as “TENs” are notifications which are used as temporary permissions for licensable activities.
They are usually for ad hoc events where you would normally have required a licence for the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment (including live or recorded music) and/or the provision of late night refreshments (hot food and drink provided between 23:00 and 05:00).
As well as using TENs for premises that do not have a licence in place, these notifications are also sometimes used by operators of premises with an existing licence who want to temporarily add a permission not on their licence or extend their trading hours for special events or notable days such as the festive period, bank holiday weekends or to show high profile sporting events.
TENs can be a great opportunity to maximise business and attract additional customers. However, the use of TENs is governed by strict procedures, provisions and limitations. With this is mind, here is a brief guide…
Do you need a TEN?
Check your existing premises licence; you might not need a TEN for certain events.
For example if you wish to extend trading hours on Sundays preceding a Bank Holiday or show a major sporting event, you may already have a non-standard timing on your premises licence to that effect on your licence.
Check the wording of the non-standard timing carefully and if in doubt seek legal advice or speak to your local licensing officer.
Be clear on what you’re applying for
TENs are not always as simple as they appear. Get it wrong and your event could well be cancelled.
For example, where your premises licence currently permits you to trade until midnight on a Friday and you wish to extend this to sell alcohol and provide regulated entertainment until 03:00 the following morning, you must make it clear on the application that the TEN would extend the sale of alcohol and regulated entertainment for the Saturday morning i.e. 00:00 to 03:00 hours, not Friday morning.
Plan ahead, apply in plenty of time
There are strict rules on giving notice for a TEN. A standard TEN must be received by the licensing authority at least 10 working days before the event. 10 working days excludes the day the notice is received and the first day of the event.
If there are less than 10 working days before the event, you need to apply for a late TEN which must be received by authorities no less than 5 working days before the event.
If objections are received to a standard TEN, you are entitled to a hearing before the licensing committee. However, an objection to a late TEN results in the TEN being automatically rejected as there is no right to a hearing.
Where you have not issued a TEN electronically to the council, a copy of a TEN must also be sent to the police and environmental health officer at the same time.
Know who will be applying for the TEN
The TEN will be made in an individual’s name.
If for whatever reason, the holder of the TEN is no longer employed at the premises and they are unlikely to agree to remain legally responsible for the event, you would need to reissue the TEN (unless the individual has agreed to sign a nomination notice consenting to another person being responsible for the event).
It is therefore best to ensure that the individual whose name the TEN has been issued is still employed at the premises at the time the event goes ahead.
Top Tip
If you are doing anything unusual outside your standard style of operation then consider consulting the local police licensing team and maybe also the local council environmental health (noises nuisance) officer on your proposal before you issue the TEN to ensure that they are ‘on side’.
Limitations on Temporary Event Notices (TENs)
50 TENs can be given by a personal licence holder per year (10 of which can be late TENs) or 5 for a non Personal Licence holder (2 of which can be late TENs).
Up to 15 TENs can be issued per year for any particular premises. Note that during 2022 and 2023 this limit was increased to 20 due to temporary legislation to assist premises following the pandemic – but it will revert to 15 again for the year 2024 onwards.
The maximum duration of an event authorised by a TEN is 168 hours (7 days).
The maximum total duration of events authorised by TENs for an individual premises is 21 days per year.
The maximum number of people attending an event where a TEN is used is 499 at any one time including staff.
There must be at least 24 hours between each TEN at any one premises if issued by the same person or connected person.
A TEN must be held by an individual who is 18 or over.
Finally
TENs can be tricky and we at Poppleston Allen can help you navigate the licensing process to ensure your event is properly covered by the necessary licensing permission, leaving you to concentrate on planning the event.
Obviously, you could be applying for a TEN on any date in the year. But if you are looking for a TEN for a popular holiday, you can see our list of TEN dates here: 2023 Temporary events notice (TEN) dates – Poppleston Allen (popall.co.uk)
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