North Ayrshire Licensing Board is the statutory licensing authority responsible for all Alcohol and Betting Licences in North Ayrshire. The Board is constituted under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and Gambling Act 2005.

North Ayrshire Council elects Councillors to be Members of the Board. The Convenor of the Licensing Board is Councillor Eleanor Collier. The Clerk to the Licensing Board is the council's Senior Legal Services Manager, Raymond Lynch.

Please read the North Ayrshire Licensing Board Guide to Information.

Licensing Board dates

Many licensing decisions can be made by the Clerk using authority granted by the Board. These decisions can be made without needing a Board meeting (this arrangement is called 'Delegated Powers').

Some decisions are on a list of reserved decisions, which means that only the Licensing Board can make them. The Reserved List includes decisions to:

grant new Premises Licences

make Major Variations to existing Premises Licences
review Premises Licences (hear complaints)

The Reserved List is prescribed by Law and the Licensing Board cannot change it.

If you want something on the Reserved List, you should lodge your application at latest by the Friday eight weeks before the date you want the Board to deal with your case. If you do this, we try to have your case dealt with at your chosen Board meeting, but we cannot guarantee to do so. Your case may have to wait for a later meeting.

The Board meetings for 2024 are:

March Meeting - Monday 18 March 2024 (Friday 19 January 2024, 4pm)
June Meeting - Monday 17 June 2024 (Friday 19 April 2024, 4pm)
September Meeting - Monday 9 September 2024 (Friday 12 July 2024, 4pm)
December Meeting - Monday 2 December 2024 (Friday 11 October 2024, 4pm)

The Board may also set extra special meetings.

Board meetings

The Board meet in Council Chambers, Cunninghame House, Irvine. All proceedings are held in public. Before deciding they may retire to another room to discuss the case then return to make the decision.

During the Coronavirus Emergency the Board met using video conferencing instead of meeting in public. Applicants for licences, licence-holders and other parties would be invited to join the Board's videoconferences when appropriate. This no longer happens, and the Board are now meeting as they did before Coronavirus.

View North Ayrshire Licensing Board Agendas and Minutes.

Statement of Reasons

Sometimes the Licensing Board is asked to issue a statement of reasons explaining a decision, in addition to notifying affected parties.

Statements of reasons can be requested by:

licence applicants
licence holders
the police
members of the public

Request conditions

Although members of the public can request a statement of reasons they must have:

 (a) made an objection or representation to:

the grant or refusal of a Premises Licence
the grant or refusal of a 'major variation' of a Premises Licence
some other decisions about a Premises Licence
the grant or refusal of an Occasional Licence

(b) made a Review Application under Section 36.

We have to give the statement of reasons to everyone who had a right to be involved in the decision, even if they did not ask for one.

In most cases, statements of reasons are sent directly to the party requesting them. A copy is also sent to the other parties involved.

When many parties are involved, we will publish the statement of reasons below.

Making an appeal

Some Board decisions can be appealed to Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. If you are thinking of an appeal, you should take independent legal advice immediately. Don't wait until the Board has issued a statement of reasons, as there are strict time limits on appealing.

The rules about who can ask for a statement of reasons are different from the rules about who can appeal. Some people who can ask for a statement of reasons cannot appeal.

Current statements of reasons

There are currently no statements of reasons.

Licensing Policy Statement

The Licensing Board adopted a Licensing Policy Statement under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 for the period 2023 to 2027. Annex D of the Licensing Policy Statement relates to Overprovision.

Objections and Complaints about Licensed Premises

The Board has stated advice on making comments and complaints. Make a Complaint/Premises Licence review application to the Licensing Board, under Section 36 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Mainstreaming Equality and Equality Outcomes

Information on the Board's equality outcomes and the progress it has made to mainstream equality is contained in the Board's:

Minimum unit pricing compliance statistics

2018 statistics

Annual Functions Report under Section 9A of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

Financial Year 2022 to 2023

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Licensing bodies

North Ayrshire Licensing Board

Local Licensing Forum

Going to Licensing meetings

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