Keystone Law licensing and planning barrister Gareth Hughes has helped secure a new premises licence for Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park event in Dulwich, London, which will take place in 2021.

Pub in the Park, the biggest food and music festival tour in the UK since 2017, visits eight locations around the UK and brings to life the very best of the British pub garden.

Gareth represented Brand Event, the company running the event with Tom Kerridge, at the appeal stage after the licence was granted on a temporary basis in January 2020 following residential opposition from The Dulwich Society and others. The licence, which was sought for the sale of alcohol and live entertainment, was granted for a one-year period over the first weekend of July 2020. The subcommittee determined that if the event was a success, Brand Events could apply for a new premises licence the year after.

Brand Events determined to reverse this decision by appeal so that the licence could be made permanent to avoid future costs and delay. Following a hearing at the Magistrates’ Court, the matter was sent back to the licensing subcommittee to reconsider the matter of the duration of the premises licence. Via a remote hearing, councillors agreed to make the licence a permanent one.

Gareth said: “This case puts down a marker for licence applications that as long as the licensing authority is satisfied, it should grant a premise licence with conditions. It should not do so based on a probationary period of a year to see how ‘things work out’ — there is no such legal animal as a ‘probationary licence’.”

Gareth, who has over 25 years of experience, regularly acts as an advocate on behalf of clients before licensing committees all over the country and on appeal to the Magistrates’ Court, having dealt with cases right up to the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords on major points of law.

Keystone’s full-service Licensing team have years of experience in dealing with both simple and complex requirements. Working closely with colleagues in other areas of law, such as property, planning, regulatory law and contracts, the team can provide the right advice to ensure that there is no delay in obtaining the correct licences and permissions.

For further information please contact: