9.—(1) A licence holder may apply in writing for a licence to be renewed.
(2) Where the licensing authority has received an application for the renewal of a licence granted under regulation 8 before the expiry date of that licence, then that licence will be regarded as continuing in force until such time as a decision is issued on that application by the licensing authority.
(3) In the case of an application for a renewal of a licence, the licensing authority may, for the purposes of regulation 7(3), rely upon a report based on an inspection made in respect of the licence within a period of one year before the date on which the renewal is to commence.