Grant of new licence in lieu of existing licence
12.—(1) Where the holder of a licence which has been renewed under Article 18 (or which could have been so renewed if the renewal date had fallen between the date of the discontinuance of the principal business and the date when his application for a new licence comes before the county court) applies to a county court for the grant or provisional grant of a new licence in lieu of the existing licence, and the court is satisfied that the premises for which the new licence is sought are, or will be,—
(a)where the existing licence was granted—
(i)before 31st July 1902, or
(ii)between 30th July 1902 and 3rd May 1971 otherwise than under section 2(2) of the Licensing (Ireland) Act 1902(1) or section 9(a)(ii) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act (Northern Ireland) 1923(2),
registered in the register of hotels maintained by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (“the Board”) under section 10 of the Development of Tourist Traffic Act (Northern Ireland) 1948(3), or
(b)where the existing licence is for premises to which Article 2(5)(a) applied, an hotel as defined by section 1(3) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act (Northern Ireland) 1923(4) providing accommodation approved by the Board, or
(c)where the existing licence is for premises to which Article 2(5)(b) applied, registered in the register of guest houses maintained by the Board under the said section 10 and without a public bar for the sale of intoxicating liquor,
the court, if it grants the licence applied for, may order that a statement be noted on the licence and recorded in the register of licences to the effect that the licence is granted in lieu of an existing licence of that description.
(2) In this Article “principal business” means the business of an hotel or the business of providing accommodation for guests in premises such as are mentioned in Article 2(5)(a) or (b).