Serious about entertaining
The process starts with a visit to your local council office to register your interest, obtain the necessary forms but most importantly seek their help and advice!
They are the experts and the usefulness of their guidance cannot be underestimated.
Having persuaded a member of your congregation to hold the licence, they must be prepared to attend a Licensee course and sit a written multi choice exam, the form filling begins.
However becoming a licensee is an important step as this person is fully responsible for all the legal aspects of selling alcohol on church premises, the purchasing and storage of alcohol and the training of bar staff. Any breaches of the law can result in fines upward of £20,000 and in extreme situations a prison sentence!
Once an application for a licence has been made you will receive a visit from the police and although they will be checking your premises, they will also offer useful advice.
During this period you will be required to publish your intention to hold a licence, this will usually be a notice in the local press so that members of the public can comment on the application.
Once a licence has been granted you will need to ensure that all glassware has legal measure lines engraved on them, that the licence and appropriate paper work is displayed on the premises and that all the bar staff have been trained!
The final step, the most pleasurable, is to purchase the alcohol – we have decided to restrict this to wine, and enjoy the new amenity!
Whilst there may seem to be ‘many hoops to jump through’ the benefits of helping to create a social environment as well as raising funds are extremely worthwhile.
The author...
Philip Murrell
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