Representations under the Licensing Act

Petitions are unlikely to be acceptable unless every page clearly shows the reasons for the petition and each petitioner gives their name, address and signature. In any case, petitions are unlikely to carry as much weight with the Licensing Committee as letters from individuals. Individually produced representations will inevitably carry more weight than "form" letters where an individual's details have been added.

Where representations are made in the form of a petition, the lead organiser must: 

• provide their own contact details 
• state clearly the application that is being opposed to, or supported and the reason for this shown on each page of the petition 
• ensure all names and addresses on the petition are clearly legible and preferably written in black ink 
• show the date the signatures are collected on each page.

We, as the licensing authority, treat a petition as being in support of a representation by the lead petitioner (or person who submits it). We correspond with that person only and will invite that person to the hearing but not all of the signatories on the petition. 

Any representation which includes material in which a third party has copyright must be accompanied by written confirmation from the copyright owner not only that you have permission to use the material but also that we, as licensing authority, can publish it in connection with the application. If you do not provide these confirmations, it is unlikely that such material will be accepted.

The Act also requires that we disregard representations that are considered to be frivolous or vexatious.