COMMENTARY ON SECTIONS General Section 51 – Application for review of premises licence
103.Subsections (1) to (3) make provision for an interested party or responsible authority to apply, in such manner and form as may be prescribed and subject to the regulations that must be made by the Secretary of State about requirements as to notification and advertisements, to a relevant licensing authority for a review of the premises licence. For example, a local resident may consider that the measures taken by the licensee to prevent public nuisance are insufficient and request that they be reviewed. Similarly, the police may consider that the measures put in place to prevent crime and disorder are not being effective and need to be reviewed. Subsections (4) to (7) provide that the authority can at any stage reject a ground for review in an application unless it is relevant to at least one of the licensing objectives, or (if the application is made by an interested party) if it is frivolous, vexatious or repetitious (namely, identical or substantially similar to a ground for review already considered by the authority in a previous review, or in the determination of the application for grant of the licence, and a reasonable period has not passed since that time.) Under subsection (6) if a licensing authority rejects a ground for a review on the basis that it is frivolous or vexatious it must notify the applicant of its reasons.