Licensing
The Council is required by law to regulate a wide range of activities. The primary purpose of the licensing function is to protect the public and to promote high standards of operation in licensed premises.
Licensing Team
The Licensing Team grants licences for alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment, taxis, animal welfare establishments, motor salvors and scrap metal dealers, boat and boatmen, society lotteries, street and house to house collections and various types of betting and gaming. For further information on a specific licence, permit or registration, please click on the relevant article below.
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Important information on the types of licence/consents you may require if you are planning on holding a community event.
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The law on licensing of alcohol, regulated entertainment and late night refreshment is complex. To help applicants understand the law and prepare applications, we have put together some explanatory guidance notes which should answer most of your questions. These can be downloaded by clicking on the icon on the right. Application forms and other documents are available on the relevant web pages below and can also be downloaded. Applicants are advised to read the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy and guidance issued by the Home Office under s.182 of the Act prior to making a formal application. Please be aware that, if you intend to provide live or recorded music on your premises, you may also require a licence from the Performing Rights Society (PRS) and from Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL). You can obtain further information on these licences by clicking on the links on the right. -
The Council licenses a range of premises including Catteries, Kennels, Pet Shops, Riding Stables, Dangerous Wild Animal establishments and Zoos.
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The Council operates two licensing schemes: 1. Licensing pleasure boats to operate in the Torridge estuary 2. Certifying small commercial vessels which go to sea from a Nominated Departure Point. -
A licence is not currently required for busking in the Torridge area.
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The Council does not currently license Car Boot Sales.
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Information about caravan and camping sites. -
Information on Street and House to House Collections
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Cinema Licences - a licence to show films - have been replaced by Premises Licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003. Please see Alcohol and Entertainment Licences for further information. -
Any person working as a Door Supervisor must be registered with the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Further details about the SIA are included on this webpage.
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The Council has an approved Licensing Enforcement Policy in place which explains how the authority will deal with contraventions of licensing laws and other offences.
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Information about the fees and charges for licences, permits and registrations.
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A licence is no longer required to deal in game or to kill game.
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The Gambling Act 2005 reformed gambling laws in Great Britain and transferred responsibility for licensing gambling premises from the Licensing Justices to local authorities. -
If you wish to show, demonstrate or perform a hypnotism act in public, you must have authorisation from the local authority in England and Wales. You must comply with any conditions attached to an authorisation.
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Information about the types of lottery permitted under the Gambling Act 2005
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Any person who wishes to operate a business dealing in motor salvage must be registered with the local authority. A motor salvage operator is defined as a person who carries on a business which consists: (a) wholly or partly in the recovery for re-use or sale of salvageable parts from motor vehicles and the subsequent sale or other disposal for scrap of the remainder of the vehicles concerned; (b) wholly or mainly in the purchase of written-off vehicles and their subsequent repair and re-sale; (c) wholly or mainly in the sale or purchase of motor vehicles which are to be the subject of any of the activities in (a) or (b) above; or (d) wholly or mainly in activities falling within (b) and (c) above. It is an offence to operate a motor salvage business which has not been registered.
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Public Entertainment Licences have been replaced by Premises Licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003. See Alcohol and Entertainment Licences for further information. -
This page contains the Council's public registers of licences.
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To be a scrap metal dealer, you need to register with your local authority. -
'Sex establishments' includes sex shops and sex cinemas. To run a sex shop - i.e. any premises selling sex toys, books or videos - you may need a licence from the local authority. To run a venue where explicit films are shown to members of the public, you will need a sex cinema licence from the local authority.
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Information about Acupuncture, Ear-Piercing, Electrolysis, Tattooing, Semi-Permanent Skin Colouring and Cosmetic Body Piercing.
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Information on permissions required for street trading
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The Sunday Trading Act 1994 regulates the opening of "large shops" on Sundays."Large shops" are those with a retail area in excess 280 sq metres
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Information on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver, Vehicle and Operator Licences.
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Theatre Licences have been replaced by Premises Licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003. Please see Alcohol and Entertainment Licences for further information.
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Licences are also required for a range of activities which are not the responsibility of Torridge District Council. The most common licences are listed here.
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A short video presentation on the Licensing Service:
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