Licensing Act 1964

121 Submission and confirmation of proposals

(1) The licensing planning committee for any area may from time to time—

(a) formulate proposals for the removal, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to removals, and subject to such conditions, if any, as the proposals may specify, of justices' licences from premises in the area to other premises in the area specified in the proposals or to premises on sites in the area so specified ;

(b) formulate with the agreement of the persons interested in the premises in question proposals for the surrender, subject to such conditions, if any, as the proposals may specify, of existing justices' licences for premises in the area, other than licences in suspense under this Act; and

(c) formulate with the agreement of the persons interested in the premises in question proposals for the extinguishment of existing justices' licences for premises in the area which are in suspense under this Act;

and shall submit any such proposals to the Minister, together with such plans and other matter explanatory of the nature and effect of the proposals as may be prescribed or as the Minister may in any particular case require.

(2) Any such removal as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of the preceding subsection is in this Act referred to as a " planning removal".

(3) Where a licensing planning committee has submitted proposals to the Minister under this section it shall publish in the prescribed manner a notice that it has submitted the proposals, naming a place at which copies of the proposals and of the plans and explanatory matter submitted to the Minister may be seen at all reasonable hours, and stating the time within which and the manner in which objections to the proposals may be made to the Minister.

(4) If no objection to proposals submitted under this section is made to the Minister within the time and in the manner stated in the notice, or if all objections so made are withdrawn, the Minister may confirm the proposals with or without modification.

(5) If objection is so made and not withdrawn, the Minister shall afford to any person making an objection an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed for the purpose by the Minister or, if it appears to him that the matters to which the objection relates are such as to require investigation by public local inquiry, he shall cause such an inquiry to be held; and after considering any objection not withdrawn and the report of the person before whom the objector appeared or of the person holding the inquiry, as the case may be, the Minister may confirm the proposals with or without modification.

(6) Subsections (2) to (5) of section 290 of the Local Government Act 1933 (which relate to the summoning of witnesses and the production of documents before, and the costs incurred at, local inquiries under that section) shall apply to an inquiry held under this section as they apply to inquiries held under that section, but with the substitution for references to a department of references to the Minister.

(7) Proposals under this section may be varied by subsequent proposals formulated and submitted to and confirmed by the Minister in like manner as the original proposals ; and references in this Part of this Act to proposals that have been confirmed shall be construed as references to such proposals as they have effect having regard to any subsequent variation of them.