New licence applications are still a rare sight at council offices in England and Wales, even though a month has now passed since they could first be submitted under the new Licensing Act.

Reasons given for the slow start vary, but the licensed trade has been flummoxed by last-minute changes to licensing policy and the delayed release of application forms by the Government.

	Yates Group has not applied for any licences yet. The company wants to make sure the police are ready to deal with any extensions

Westminster Council, which is set to become one of the largest licensing bodies in England and Wales, has received just two premises applications so far.

A spokesman said: "It's becoming clear that many businesses are finding the forms difficult to complete."

JD Wetherspoon completed personal licences for its managers ahead of the 7 February start date, but was frustrated by the last-minute tweaks and forced to throw the forms in the bin.

Wolverhampton & Dudley boss Derek Andrew is equally annoyed: "The goalposts keep being moved and the operating plans we have to submit are much more complicated than before," he said.

He expected licence applications for the 550 managed pubs he heads to start late this month.

Yates Group chief executive Mark Jones is expecting to start applications in the summer - after he has finished negotiations with the police. "The plan is not to ask for any extensions to our opening hours until we have assurances from the police that there will be additional officers on the high street," he said.

Urbium, however, completed the licensing of its 29 sites - most of which have been converted under grandfather rights, where the terms of the new licence are unchanged - just over a week ago.

Finance director Steve Palmer said: "A big issue for pub operators is they now have to list the licensable activities that occur in each part of their premises. It's a new requirement but the style we already operate in."

Greene King Pub Partners, the 1,260-strong leased division of Greene King, has also completed its premises applications.

A British Beer and Pub Association spokeswoman said it was not "concerned" about the number of applications made so far.


Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 10 March 2005