Government proposals for licensing in live music venues receive endorsement from trust organization
The UK Government has accepted a series of key recommendations from the Licensing Taskforce report, aiming to modernize the licensing system to support long-term investment and planning in festivals and music venues.
The recommendations include creating a National Licensing Policy Framework for greater consistency and transparency across local authorities, considering a one-time licensing condition ‘amnesty’ to update and remove outdated licence conditions, exploring longer licensing terms for pavement areas, reviewing temporary event notice limits for increased flexibility, and strengthening the agent of change principle to protect venues from negative impacts of nearby developments.
Music Venue Trust CEO, Mark Davyd, warmly welcomes the government's response. He supports a practical approach to temporary event notices and the adoption of the Agent of Change principles into licensing policy.
LIVE CEO, Jon Collins, expresses delight at working with the government on the Licensing Taskforce report. He praises the government for championing business-friendly measures in the licensing regime, and believes that the rebalancing of the licensing regime will retain necessary protections while opening up new opportunities for venues, events, and festivals.
The government's response also includes an 'amnesty' to modernize and streamline licenses, and a strengthening of the 'agent of change' principle for uniform application across local authorities. The government recognizes the value in reviewing license length and fees for festivals.
Steve Lamacq, who is associated with LIVE, as mentioned in a recent profile, welcomes the government's response. The UK government's response to the Licensing Taskforce report is seen as the most significant licensing reform in two decades, designed to remove barriers to innovation and economic growth in the hospitality and nightlife sectors.
Music and entertainment sectors may benefit from the UK government's reforms, as the response to the Licensing Taskforce report includes an 'amnesty' for music venues to modernize and streamline their licenses, and a strengthening of the 'agent of change' principle for uniform application across local authorities. This move toward business-friendly measures and the review of license length and fees for festivals is seen as the most significant licensing reform in two decades, designed to remove barriers to innovation and economic growth in the hospitality and nightlife sectors.
