As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, we are keeping the matter under review, following government advice, and updating our business continuity arrangements to ensure we can continue to deliver our licensing service.
Some of this information may be subject to change without notice. We will do our best to keep you informed but we appreciate your understanding and patience at this time.
In line with government advice, officers are working from home as much as possible. Our offices are closed, so please do not attempt to make the trip to drop off any paperwork, payments etc. Please see below and on each webpage for specific application guidance by licence type.
We will do our best to process your application as quickly as possible but please bear in mind it will very likely take longer than usual.
Panel hearings are now being held remotely. If you are required to attend a panel hearing, full details will be sent to you on how to access the meeting with the report.
As we are very busy trying to process as many applications as possible, please do not contact us unless it is absolutely necessary. In the first instance, please check the website for any updates or changes to procedures.
We have created a guidance document for businesses which covers the following:
The templates relating to off-sales of alcohol under the Business and Planning Act referred to in the above guidance can be found here:
For advice on any potential COVID outbreak at your premises, please follow the guidance on this action card.
Please see our events management page for more information.
Some premises types have been closed by the government in order to reduce the spread of the virus. Businesses that breach this will be subject to prohibition notices, potentially unlimited fines and the loss of any licences they hold. Thames Valley Police has also issued advice on security for closed businesses.
The government has put in place measures to support businesses affected by the virus.
If you’re a local business owner you can also contact our South and Vale Business Support team.
We recognise these are challenging and uncertain times and would encourage anyone struggling with their mental health and wellbeing or financial difficulties to seek help from the broad range of support available including:
The Director of Public Health, Ansaf Azhar sent a letter to Town and Parish Councils on Monday 5 October about Covid-19 measures for public events taking place in the district. Which you can see below.
There is also a checklist for public events during the pandemic which you may find useful.
Please use the existing online process for this if you can.
If you cannot use the online process, you can submit the form by email, ensuring you copy this to Thames Valley Police Licensing at Licensing@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk.
Alternatively you can submit your TEN by post, enclosing a cheque for the fee of £21. Please take care to complete the temporary event notice form in full. Any incomplete or illegible forms will be rejected and will not be processed. You must also copy the application to Thames Valley Police at Licensing, Thames Valley Police, Headquarters (South), Kidlington, OX5 2NX.
We cannot amend a temporary event notice to move an event to a new date, nor can we issue a refund for any cancelled event. You can however withdraw the TEN so that it does not count towards your totals for the year. Please email us at licensing@southoxon.gov.uk to do this.
Applications can be made through our online portal in some cases, or by post or email – for Licensing Act 2003 please see our Applicant Guidance document on our premises licence page in the first instance. Officers are available to consult with responsible authorities on draft applications and can provide guidance on matters which should be considered prior to submission of the full application, in order to reduce the risk of representations being made against the application.
The current position is that these should still be paid as normal and we are still legally required to suspend licences where payment is not made. Any overdue fees are required to be paid in order for us to lift the suspension of a premises licence.
If you need to postpone your event due to the COVID-19 outbreak, you need to check your licence very carefully. Most premises licences will be issued in perpetuity and can therefore be used at any time in the future. Some premises licences however may be time limited, in which case they cannot be used for different dates. You can check if your premises licence is time limited by looking at the front page of your licence, and refer to the section that read “Where the licence is time limited the dates”. If you would like to discuss a variation to your licence, please contact us.
We are required to see original documents for this application type, so the application should be made as normal but by post due to the closure of the office to members of the public. We recommend all documents are sent by recorded/special delivery.
