Licensing authorities must allow the ten working day period to expire before making a decision but will then give you a decision within fifteen working days, beginning on the first working day after the authority received the application.
There is no right to a hearing in the case of minor variations.
If the licensing authority fails to respond to you within fifteen working days, the application is treated as refused and the application and fee must be returned. The licensing authority may agree with you that an undetermined application should be treated as a new application and the fee originally submitted will be treated as the fee for the new application.
Where an application is refused and is resubmitted through the full variation process, the full 28-day period will apply from the date the new application is received. The normal process for full variations should be followed (application copied to responsible authorities, blue notice displayed and advertised in a newspaper).
The overall test is whether the proposed variation could impact adversely on the licensing objectives.
