Part XIII Miscellaneous
Closure of certain licensed premises due to disorder or disturbance.
F1179B Consideration of closure order by certain justices
(1)
The responsible senior police officer shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after the coming into force of a closure order, apply to relevant justices for them to consider under this section the order and any extension of it.
(2)
The relevant justices shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, consider whether to exercise their powers under subsection (3) of this section in relation to the order and any extension of it.
(3)
The relevant justices may—
(a)
revoke the order and any extension of it if the order or extension is still in force;
(b)
order the relevant licensed premises to remain, or to be, closed until the matter is dealt with by an order of licensing justices at the next licensing sessions;
(c)
make any other order as they think fit in relation to the premises.
(4)
In determining whether the premises will be, or will remain, closed the relevant justices shall, in particular, consider whether—
(a)
in the case of an order made by virtue of section 179A(1)(a) or (b) of this Act, closure is necessary in the interests of public safety because of disorder or likely disorder on the premises or in the vicinity of, and related to, the premises;
(b)
in the case of an order made by virtue of section 179A(1)(c) of this Act, closure is necessary to ensure that no disturbance is, or is likely to be, caused to the public by excessive noise emitted from the premises.
(5)
A person who, without reasonable excuse, permits relevant licensed premises to be open in contravention of an order made under subsection (3)(b) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
(6)
A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with, or does an act in contravention of, an order made under subsection (3)(c) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
(7)
In this section and sections 179C to 179K of this Act “relevant justices” means—
(a)
licensing justices for the licensing district in which the premises are situated; or
(b)
if no such justices are available within a reasonable time, justices of the peace F2acting in the local justice area in which the premises are situated.
(8)
In this section and sections 179C to 179K of this Act “the responsible senior police officer” means the senior police officer who made the closure order or, if another senior police officer is designated for this purpose by the chief officer of police for the police area in which the premises are situated, that other senior police officer.