Liverpool City Council has opened a consultation on proposed guidance for the hours at which new venues can sell alcohol for drinking on their premises.
Under the proposals, applicants in much of the city centre would normally be expected to stop serving alcohol by midnight. Outside the city centre, the suggested guiding time would be 11pm. Five established night-time economy areas would continue to have greater flexibility.
The times are proposals, not rules already imposed on venues. They would be guiding principles rather than automatic cut-offs, and each application would still be considered individually. The consultation began on 11 November and runs until 23 December.
What the proposed times would mean
The consultation concerns alcohol sold for consumption on the premises, including at bars, clubs, hotels and restaurants. A suggested time for ending alcohol service is not necessarily the time a venue must close.
In the city centre, the midnight principle would apply outside the five designated night-time areas. The proposed 11pm principle covers locations beyond the city centre boundary. The council has published maps showing the boundary and the areas where greater flexibility may be allowed.
The five areas are:
- Concert Square and Wolstenholme Square, including Slater Street, Wood Street and Seel Street;
- Mathew Street and the Cavern Quarter;
- parts of Victoria Street and Stanley Street;
- the junction of Jamaica Street and Greenland Street and the surrounding Stanhope Street area east of Grafton Street;
- the Fabric District.
Even if the guidance is adopted, a licence application would not be automatically granted simply because its proposed hours fall within the suggested times. Nor would an application necessarily be refused because an applicant seeks different hours. The council says location, circumstances, potential effects and licensing objectives would be considered.
Existing premises licences would not have their hours changed by this consultation. The council says the proposals concern new applications and applications to vary the hours for alcohol sold for consumption on the premises. An application to vary an existing licence would still need to be considered on its merits.
Residents and businesses invited to respond
The council wants views on what the proposed approach could mean for residents, licensed premises and other businesses. It is also seeking feedback on possible effects on employment, investment, regeneration, culture, public safety and the wider night-time economy.
The authority says it wants to support hospitality and evening activity while taking account of noise and disturbance for people living nearby. It identifies Castle Street, Dale Street and Bold Street as examples of places where residential growth and regeneration need to be considered alongside the night-time economy.
Residents, venue owners and staff, other businesses, community organisations, visitors and students are among those invited to take part. People can complete the council’s online survey or attend a public drop-in session to ask questions and give their views.
Four sessions are planned: at Spellow Library from 10am to midday on 3 December; Allerton Library from 2pm to 4pm on 4 December; Liverpool Town Hall from 5pm to 7pm on 7 December; and West Derby Library from 10am to midday on 9 December.
What happens next
The consultation follows the approval of Liverpool’s wider Statement of Licensing Policy for 2026 to 2031 by the full council on 30 September. The authority subsequently requested further consultation on the hours for premises selling alcohol for consumption on site and on bringing licensing and planning policy more closely into line.
The existing policy also contains separate guidance for new off-sales applications, such as shops selling alcohol for consumption elsewhere. The current consultation focuses on on-premises alcohol sales, not that separate off-sales guidance.
Licensing and planning are separate systems. The council says a venue may need both a premises licence and planning permission, and approval under one process does not automatically mean approval under the other.
The licensing policy is intended to support four statutory objectives: preventing crime and disorder, protecting public safety, preventing public nuisance and protecting children from harm. The consultation asks how the proposed hours should sit alongside those objectives and the city’s different neighbourhood uses.
Once responses have been considered, the findings are due to be included in a report to the full council. The authority has said the report is expected at its meeting on 27 January 2027. No final decision has yet been made on the proposals covered by the consultation.
