These case studies show the impact of a licensing dispute and why Licence Protection is essential for licence holders. Music, Drinks and Entertainment licence holders all require a specific policy add on to stay protected in the event of a licence dispute.
Background – What Happened and Why?
An iconic nightclub faced a serious challenge to its licence following two drug related deaths several months apart. These deaths led to investigations from the police and local council who concluded that the venue hadn’t done enough to prevent the use and distribution of drugs at the venue.
Impact – What Action Was Taken Against the Venue?
The police and council worked together to immediately suspend the venue’s licence, leading to a full licence review involving the authorities, local residents and venue representatives. This unfortunately led to the venue’s licence being revoked due to the alleged failure to adequately manage the risk of drug use on the premises.
Actions – What Did the Venue Do to Protect Its Licence?
The venue launched an extensive legal appeal against the council’s decision, backed by a high-profile public campaign which attracted widespread media attention and support from industry leaders, musicians, nightlife patrons and politicians.
Key actions taken included:
- Legal Representation: The venue hired specialist licensing solicitors and a barrister to prepare and represent them in the appeal.
- Public Campaign & Fundraising: A crowdfunded legal fund raised hundreds of thousands of pounds from supporters.
- Stakeholder Engagement: The venue engaged with community leaders, politicians, and public health experts to advocate for a harm-reduction approach.
- Policy & Security Overhaul: The club proposed a strict set of new conditions, including; Lifetime bans for anyone caught dealing or using drugs. Improved CCTV and ID scanners. Enhanced security and drug detection measures, including sniffer dogs and covert surveillance. A revised search policy and health-focused harm reduction initiatives.
Outcome – What Was the Outcome to the Incident?
Following negotiations between the venue’s legal team, the police, and the council, a settlement was reached, and the licence was reinstated with extensive new conditions.
The venue reopened under the revised licence, with significantly tightened controls around security and drug use. The incident sparked wider industry conversations about the balance between public safety, nightlife culture, and the responsibilities of venue operators.
Although the club survived, the closure, legal fees, and additional compliance costs ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds, not to mention significant loss of income during the closure.
Learnings – How would Licensecure, NDML’s Licence Insurance policy, have protected the venue and reduced costs?
A Licensing Legal Protection insurance product would have provided the venue with crucial support, helping to manage and reduce the financial and operational risks they faced. You can read a full analysis of how Licensecure would have helped the venue on the following pages, but in summary:
- Covered Legal Expenses: Funded the cost of legal representation up to £100,000, specialist licensing solicitors, and expert witnesses
- Funded Appeal Costs: Covered the cost of appealing the licence revocation, including court and administrative costs.
- Provided Crisis Legal Advice: Offered immediate access to expert legal counsel after the first incident to guide on mitigation measures, possibly helping to prevent full suspension.
- Supported Mitigation Strategy: Provided consultancy services or funding to implement harm reduction and enhanced security measures early.
- Help staff with a challenging scenario: The policy offers counselling for staff members, which would have been invaluable following a fatal incident.
In short, legal protection would have allowed this venue to focus on strategic recovery without the severe financial and operational strain – potentially safeguarding their licence more swiftly and cost-effectively.
Learn More about Licensecure
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