The Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

9.—(1) The housing authority shall serve on every person who has been, or in the opinion of the housing authority will be, dispossessed of a licence in consequence, whether directly or indirectly, of the acquisition by the housing authority of the premises to which the licence relates or of the carrying out of the re-development scheme, or, where any such person has died, on his personal representative or on any other person who is entitled in consequence of his death to a beneficial interest in the business carried on in the licensed premises, a notice—

(a) describing the approved sites and referring to the declaration by which they were approved;

(b) stating whether or not the authority propose to erect premises on the sites;

(c) inviting offers in writing from those persons for the purchase or, if the housing authority think fit, the lease of any of those sites or premises;

(d) specifying the period (not being less than 2 months from the date on which the notice is served) within which offers may be made.

(2) A person entitled to receive a notice under sub-paragraph (1) is in this Schedule referred to as a “preferred applicant”.

(3) After the expiration of the period during which offers may be made as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(d), the housing authority may, with the approval of the Department, dispose of a site or premises on that site to any preferred applicant who has made an offer for that site or those premises within that period.

(4) Without prejudice to its right to refuse its approval to the disposal under this paragraph of any approved site or premises, the Department shall—

(a) refuse to approve the disposal of the site or premises to any preferred applicant for a consideration which is less than the fair value thereof;

(b) refuse to approve the disposal to a preferred applicant of a greater number of sites or premises than the number of licensed premises in respect of which he has been or will be dispossessed of licences in consequence, whether directly or indirectly, of the acquisition of the licensed premises or the carrying out of the re-development scheme.