East Suffolk Council
Temporary event notices
Temporary event notices (TENs) are a way of providing permission for small, occasional events at a premises or area (including outdoor places) where licensable activities are not normally allowed.
Licensable activities include one or more of the following:
- Retail sale and supply of alcohol (this includes alcohol supplied as part of an admission ticket, and pay bars at private functions).
- Provision of 'regulated entertainment' (which includes live and recorded music, dancing, indoor sporting events, the performance of plays, and the exhibition of films).
- Provision of hot food or hot drink between 11pm and 5am.
As a rule of thumb, if an event includes any of the above activities and is open to the general public, it is licensable. However, there are some exceptions, and we suggest that you contact us for advice if you are in any doubt about whether the proposed event needs a temporary event notice.
Common exceptions are garden fetes, bazaars, etc, which are generally exempt from requiring a licence for regulated entertainment - so long as the event is not held for private gain. Music that is incidental to a non licensable activity (e.g. a fashion show or keep fit class) is also exempted. There are also exemptions for regulated entertainment when it takes place as part of a religious service or at places of public religious worship (e.g. nativity plays during a service anywhere, choral works or a play in a church even where not part of a service).
There are no exemptions for the sale of alcohol, which will always require a licence.
Is there a fee?
The fee is £21 each time a temporary event notice is submitted to the Council.
What are the main rules?
There are very strict limits on temporary event notices:
- There must be no more than 499 people at a TEN event at any one time (this includes organisers, stewards, performers, etc, as well as audience and spectators)
- A premises can hold no more than 15 TEN events per calendar year (for 2023 this number is increased to 20)
- The maximum length a TEN event can last is 168 hours. However, the combined duration of TEN events at individual premises must not exceed 21 days per calendar year (for 2023 this number has increased to 26 days)
- Personal licence holders can submit up to 50 temporary event notices per calendar year
- Anyone over the age of 18 who is not a personal licence holder can submit up to 5 temporary event notices per calendar year
- Multiple temporary event notices can be submitted at the same time but each event requires a separate notice with a separate fee payable
Is there a deadline for submitting a temporary event notice?
The Licensing Team, the Environmental Protection Team and the police must receive copies of the completed notice with at least 10 working days* notice of the proposed event. Because of the very tight time scales involved we would welcome the forms as early as possible to ensure the safe and effective running of the event.
'Late' TENs may be received no later than 5 working days, but no earlier than 9 working days before the event. The number of 'late' TENs that can be given in any one calendar year is limited to 10 for personal licence holders and 2 for non-personal licence holders (and these count towards the total number stated above).
* A 'working day' is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday. '10 working days' notice means 10 working days exclusive of the day on which the event is due to start and the day it is received by us.
How do I submit a temporary event notice?
You can access the form by:
How will I know if the temporary event notice has been granted?
Providing the temporary event notice is approved, the Licensing Team will return an endorsed copy of the notice to you and a covering letter confirming that the event can go ahead.
Can anyone object to a temporary event notice?
Only the police or an environmental health officer may object to a proposed TEN event, if they have concerns that it could cause crime or disorder, and they must do so within 3 working days of receiving their copy of the notice. Should this happen, the person submitting the temporary event notice will be contacted with a view to mediation to try and resolve any difficulties identified. If mediation is unsuccessful the notice will be placed before the Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee for a decision.
There is no recourse to a hearing with respect to a 'late' TEN. The police or Environmental Health Officer’s decision will be final.
If you are a local resident who has been affected by activities authorised through a temporary event notice you should refer to our complaints procedure for advice on what to do.