Fri, 11 Sep 2015
Following a review brought by the police in January 2015 one of Essex's major independent hotels was banned from using its outdoor space or nightclub for licensable activities by a district council. In particular, whilst alcohol could be served inside the hotel, it was banned from being served outside or in the well established night club on the hotel site.
No5 barrister Ian Brownhill was instructed on behalf of the hotel by the Head of the Litigation and Dispute Department at Tolhurst Fisher LLP to appeal the decision. Ian represented the hotel in a three day appeal hearing in Court, assisted by Nigel's trainee Danny Turpin. The case involved the cross examination of several police officers including three senior officers from Essex Police and lengthy legal submissions.
The Court agreed with Ian's submissions, finding: (1) the reasons given by the district council were clearly inadequate; (2) the appeal was almost inevitable; (3) the blanket ban on the use of outside space was disproportionate; (4) the ban on the use of the nightclub was disproportionate.
Ian Brownhill regularly acts for local authorities, companies and individuals in the whole gambit of licensing cases. A member of both the regulatory and public law teams at No5, Ian regularly advises on the legality of licensing processes and enforcement.
