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Temporary Event notice

Temporary Event Notices (TENs) authorise licensable activities on unlicensed premises on a temporary basis.

Licensable activity includes:

  • selling alcohol
  • serving alcohol to members of a private club
  • providing entertainment, such as music, dancing or indoor sporting events
  • serving hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am

You’ll also need a TEN if a particular licensable activity is not included in the terms of your existing licence, for example holding a wedding reception at a community centre.

Applying for a TEN

The process is formally known as ‘serving’ a Temporary Event Notice.

To authorise the licensable activities the person organising an event must serve a TEN on the licensing authority no later than 10 working days before the day on which the event is to start and pay the statutory fee. A copy of the TEN also needs to be sent to the police and the environmental health officer.

The fee for a (TEN) is £21 per notice. The fee is not refundable if the notice is withdrawn or cancelled, is made too late, or if a statutory limit is exceeded (see below).

Please note: a temporary event notice cannot be changed once acknowledged by the licensing authority. If your event does not go ahead as planned you can cancel the TEN at any time up to 24 hours before the TEN start time and the TEN will not count towards your total yearly allowance. However, your application fee cannot be refunded.

Whilst the minimum notice you have to give is 10 working days (you do NOT count Saturdays and Sundays or any Bank Holidays), we would encourage you to serve your TEN as soon as possible during the process of arranging the event to make sure you can get the permission you want.

When calculating the 10 working days notice period, please note that this does not include the day the notice is received by the licensing authority or the day of the event.

Limits on TENs

  • Anyone aged 18 or over can give a maximum of five TENs each calendar year. If you are a personal licence holder, you can give a maximum of fifty TENs each calendar year.
  • No more than 499 people (including staff and performers) can be present at any one time.
  • Each event covered by a TEN can last up to a maximum of 168 hours.
  • No more than fifteen TENs can be given in respect of any particular premises each calendar year.
  • TENs can only be used to permit activities to take place at a premises on a maximum of 21 days each calendar year.
  • There must be a minimum of 24 hours between any two events organised by the same person and taking place at the same premises.

As long as the above rules are followed, only the police or an Environmental Health Officer can intervene to stop an event authorised by a TEN from taking place. This is also the case for any changes to the arrangements for the event. The police and Environmental Health can only intervene where they believe that the event would undermine one or more of the licensing objectives.

More information on temporary event notices is available from the GOV.UK website - go to the GOV.UK TEN page.

Apply online

You can serve your Temporary Event notice and pay the required fee online via GOV.UK and this is the fastest way for us to receive and process your application.

Serve a Temporary Event Notice online via GOV.UK

Apply by post

You can apply by post by completing the form below and returning it with the fee of £21 (cheques made payable to Wyre Forest District Council) to:

Wyre Forest District Council, Finepoint Way, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 7WF

Copies of your application must also be sent to the following two addresses:

Environmental Health, Worcestershire Regulatory Services, Wyre Forest House, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 7WF, and

West Mercia Police, Kidderminster Police Station, Habberley Road, Kidderminster, DY11 6AN

Download a Temporary Event Notice form - printable

Will tacit consent apply?

Yes. This means that you will be able to act as though your notice is granted if you have not heard from us after 10 working days.

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