The importance of regularly reviewing and refreshing operational procedures cannot be overstated, especially in the realm of licensing reviews. Over my three decades of experience as a barrister in licensing and also dealing with many reviews under the Licensing Act 2003, a common issue emerges where long-standing and indeed very experienced license holders tend to rely on past successes, assuming all is well due to years of incident-free operation.

I’m afraid the – “we’ve always done it this way” defence – cuts no ice with licensing committees.

Recently, in a police review I handled for residents, it became evident that a license holder had neglected to review their premises’ license conditions since its grant in 2005. While superficial compliance was maintained, the actual implementation fell short. Routine had overtaken vigilance, leading to a lack of preparedness when faced with a serious incident. Many staff had stopped thinking and were rather mindlessly operating out of habit. The absence of practice drills and clear procedures resulted in chaos during critical moments, compromising the preservation of crime scenes – a grave concern for police.

In such instances, the argument of mere technical compliance holds no sway with elected members. This case underscores the critical necessity for license holders to regularly revisit all license conditions with their staff, ensuring a thorough comprehension of each requirement and how best to fulfil them.

Recently, I was invited by a client to participate in a training session at a prominent London establishment, engaging a large staff cohort in dissecting and debating all 72 licence conditions. This exercise not only sparked innovative ideas but also revitalized operational approaches, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and vigilance. Now that kind of initiative has an infinitely better chance of ensuring a premises licence can be preserved on an application for review!!

Recent reviews at iconic venues such as Heaven, Groucho Club and Drumshed suggest that procedures had perhaps become somewhat tired and needed to be augmented by the addition of further new conditions which happened on review allowing each premises to remain open.

Photograph: Kate Busz for Time Out