With the deadline for new licence applications just around the corner, hospitality traders are facing the biggest change to British licensing laws in modern times.
The licensing minister promises it will save the hospitality industry 2 billion over the next ten years, but critics highlight the significant increase in costs, complicated paper work and bureaucracy that the new Licensing Act will bring.
The act received royal assent in July 2003, but the potential impact it will have on the hospitality industry is only just being recognised.
The deadline for every new licence application is August 6th, in time for the new laws to take effect on November 24th. But some licensees are unaware of the impending changes, and the potential implications for their businesses.
If the Augustdeadline is missed, any bar, restaurant, hotel or take-away could face temporary closure, as well as the ordeal of applying for a brand new licence
