29 Market Street, Tamworth, B79 7LR
Albion Road, Marden, TN12 9DT
Riviera Centre, Torquay
11-13 April 2025
23 Haltwhistle Road, South Woodham Ferrers, CM3 5ZA
Unit 11, Valley Point Industrial Estate, Beddington Farm Road, Beddington, CR0 4WP
Argyle Place, Love Road, Lowestoft, NR32 2NZ
Spreyton, EX17 5AL
Did you know that no new premises licences have been created in Northern Ireland for over 100 years?
Just like the rest of the UK, if you want to open a pub, social club, brewery taproom or an off-trade business like a supermarket, then you need to license the premises. Unlike the rest of the UK however, in Northern Ireland there are a fixed number of licenses available. In order to get one, would-be venues must wait for a licence to be ‘surrendered’ and then transferred to their premises. This is called the ‘surrender principle’.
The limited supply makes them hugely valuable, with premises licences often selling for £100,000 or more. For the largest pub chains, brewery groups and supermarket giants, this is just the cost of doing business, but for small, specialist or community pubs, or independent breweries who want to open a taproom, this can be an insurmountable barrier to entry.
The surrender principle hurts local businesses in Northern Ireland and means a hugely restricted choice at the bar for consumers.
With the Executive due to respond to an independent review of alcohol licensing laws, we are calling for them to deliver meaningful action for Northern Ireland’s consumers, tourism, pubs, and independent brewers and cider makers.
We are calling for updated licensing laws to increase consumer choice and allow local businesses to reach their full potential.
The Executive should commit to updating licensing laws and phase out the surrender principle to allow Northern Ireland’s smaller, local and independent breweries and cider makers to get a fairer access to market against giant global brewing businesses and make it easy to open new, small and specialist pubs and brewery taprooms.
We would also like the Executive’s support in recognising the social benefits in the regulated setting of a community pub and to give pubs and breweries a fighting chance against cheap supermarket alcohol.
Let’s ensure the Executive delivers meaningful action for Northern Ireland’s consumers, tourism, pubs, and independent brewers and cider makers.
If you live in Northern Ireland, please take a minute to use our simple online campaigning tool and email your MLA to ask them to write to the Communities Minister. Every email really does make a difference.
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