Complete Licensing

Ensure your premises licence conditions are being followed during every shift.

Checking compliance means comparing the wording of your licence with the activities and procedures that are actually in place at your premises. Ongoing compliance is essential to protect your premises licence and your business operations.

In our latest blog, Jim Sollars, Senior Licensing and Compliance Adviser at Complete Licensing, shares practical steps to help you:

✅Turn licence conditions into a working checklist
✅Make staff responsibilities clear
✅Check procedures during trading
✅Review records and follow up on anything that needs attention

Read the full blog here: https://completelicensing.uk/blog/are-you-complying-with-your-premises-licence-conditions-practical-checks/

Are you planning to open a new bar, restaurant or entertainment venue? Don’t assume it will only take 28 days to apply for your premises licence.

28 days is the public consultation period required once your application has been submitted. Don’t forget you also need time to prepare your application, operating schedule and premises plan before the 28 day period even starts. If objections are received, it can take even longer.

If your opening date is dependent on having your licence in place, start the application as soon as possible. Complete Licensing can help you plan your application and understand the likely timescales for your premises.

https://bit.ly/4AFW4dd

👥 MEET OUR TEAM | Ray Bailey

Director of Training and Educational Lead | Complete Licensing

From 30+ years in the Met (including 8 years specialising in alcohol licensing and licensed-premises compliance) to training and consultancy support—Ray helps venues prevent incidents, respond effectively, and protect their licence, customers and reputation.

✨ Highlights

🚓 30+ years’ Metropolitan Police service (retired 2017)

👮‍♂️ Supervised the Met Police licensing team for Westminster & London’s West End

🎯 Specialist focus: alcohol licensing, premises compliance + managing crime/disorder in the night-time economy

🏛️ Home Office secondment (Drugs & Alcohol Unit)—contributed frontline insight to the Government’s Alcohol Strategy

🏟️ London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics—licensing and event-planning support

🏙️ Met Police licensing lead for the London Borough of Bexley—worked on Licensing & Gambling Policy development

🎓 Designed and delivered training for DPS/premises licence holders, venue teams, door supervisors, police officers and licensing practitioners

🧪 Nominated trainer for BIIAB Crime Scene Preservation (licensed trade)

How Ray helps:

🧑‍🏫 Training • 📄 Licences • ⚖️ Reviews/hearings • 🔍 Compliance • 📹 CCTV/evidence retention • 🧯 Incident management • 🛡️ Crime & disorder prevention • 🆔 Age verification • 🚪 Door supervision • 🏟️ Major-event planning • 🤝 Multi-agency engagement

📌 Spotlight: London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics—multi-agency licensing and public-safety planning at scale.

Learn more about Ray here: https://bit.ly/4yjUego

Complete Licensing has secured a key late‑night licence variation for Tiger Bay’s Shere Khan sh**ha bar in Enfield, extending opening hours to 5:30am on selected days.

This was achieved through focused mediation with the Metropolitan Police and Environmental Health, resolving their concerns within Enfield’s cumulative impact zone and avoiding a committee hearing. The licence was granted under delegated authority with clear conditions on resident engagement and ongoing compliance checks.

The result: later trading hours, a smoother process, and a framework that balances business needs with local community expectations.

Would your Challenge 25 policy survive a busy Saturday night? 👀

The queue is growing. A customer argues. A new member of staff looks to the manager for support.

That is when your policy needs to work.

Before this weekend, ask your team: 💬

🪪 Which forms of ID do we accept?
🔍 What should you check on the ID?
📝 How do you handle and record a refusal?
🤝 Who supports you when a customer pushes back?

A training signature tells you someone attended. Their answers help show whether they can put that training into practice.

At Complete Licensing, we help operators turn written policies into practical routines that staff understand and managers reinforce.

Could your newest team member confidently refuse a sale tonight?

👥 MEET OUR TEAM | Jim Sollars

Senior Licensing and Compliance Advisor | Complete Licensing

From 35 years in the Met (1980–2019)—including extensive licensing enforcement in Soho and managing the Westminster Police Licensing Team at City Hall—Jim helps venues stay compliant, respond effectively, and protect their licence, customers and reputation.

✨ Highlights

🚓 35 years’ Metropolitan Police service (retired 2019)

👮‍♂️ Known for years as Soho’s “village policeman”

🤝 Mediated between venues and residents to promote the licensing objectives

🏛️ Managed the Westminster Police Licensing Team (Westminster City Hall)

📄 Processed hundreds of premises licence applications + assessed thousands of TENs

⚖️ Represented the Met at regular Westminster licensing hearings

🏅 Commendations for major investigations (incl. prolific burglary group + safeguarding vulnerable women)

🎪 Supported major events incl. Gay Pride + Notting Hill Carnival (Gold Advisory Groups / licensing advisor)

How Jim helps:

📄 Licences • 🔁 Variations • 🧾 TENs • ⚖️ Reviews/hearings • 🔍 Compliance • 🧑‍🏫 Training • 🧩 Operating procedures • 🛠️ Practical action plans

Learn more about Jim here: https://bit.ly/4iH8BXd

Many businesses only focus on their premises licence when something goes wrong. By then, it is often too late.

Start with the basics: understand every condition on your licence and check regularly that you follow them in practice. Schedule routine compliance checks and deal with issues early: incomplete incident or refusals logs, staff unsure of key rules, repeated noise complaints, or faulty CCTV.

Put a simple compliance framework in place: clear procedures, staff training, planned site visits, and real-time checks during trading. Record what you do, who is responsible, deadlines, and keep evidence. This turns “we think we comply” into “we can prove we comply”.

The result: lower risk, cost, and stress of a review, and a stronger position when seeking variations or later hours.

For structured support with compliance checks, training, and documentation, contact Complete Licensing.

📣 Planning your venue’s events for 2027? A new proposal could give you more flexibility.

The Government has announced plans to increase annual Temporary Event Notice (TEN) limits for individual premises in England & Wales (subject to Parliamentary approval), intended to take effect on 1 January 2027:

✅ TENs per premises (per calendar year): 15 → 20
✅ Days covered by TENs (per calendar year): 21 → 26

🍻 For pubs, bars, restaurants and event organisers, this could create more room in the calendar for special events.

⏳ But timing matters: these proposed increases do not apply to your Christmas and New Year’s Eve events in 2026.

Before adding dates:
🔎 Check what your premises licence already permits
🧾 Confirm your remaining TEN allowance
📌 Make sure you have the right permissions for hours, activities and areas

🤝 At Complete Licensing, we help operators plan events, identify the right licensing route and prepare the practical details that support a well-run venue.

📩 Planning your festive programme or next year’s events? Get in touch with our team.