Is it too late once the licence has been granted?

Not always. A licence is not an opening date, so the fit-out, staff and stock can still be under way. But the operator will have made more of its choices by then, so the earlier you are, the more is left to decide.

What about a venue that is changing hands?

Look for licence transfers. A transfer moves the licence to a new holder, which usually means the business has changed hands, and new owners tend to refit and review their suppliers. Transfers need no newspaper notice, so they appear only on the council’s register.

Which applications are worth a call?

New applications, full variations and transfers. A change of designated premises supervisor or a minor variation rarely means spending, so CiviFlow leaves them out of the list.

Blog / 4 min

When should you contact a new bar or restaurant about its fit-out?

The licensing timetable a new venue works to, what it must arrange before opening day, and when a supplier’s first call is still useful.

By Oliver Stocks-Fryer · Published 12 November 2026

Short answer

As soon as its premises licence application is public. The council cannot grant the licence for at least 28 days, the venue cannot sell alcohol until it holds one, and its food registration, insurance and waste collection all have to be arranged before it trades. Contact the business during those 28 days, while those choices are still open.

The timetable a new venue works to

Stage	How long	What happens
Application	Day 0	The applicant sends the application to the council and must advertise it
Representations	28 consecutive days, starting the day after the council receives the application	The police, other authorities and residents can comment
No representations	At the end of the 28 days	The council must grant the licence as applied for, with the conditions the law requires
Representations made	A hearing must begin within 20 working days of the end of the 28 days	The council hears both sides, unless everyone agrees a hearing is unnecessary

A venue with no objections can hold its licence about a month after applying. One that goes to a hearing waits longer: 28 days plus up to 20 working days is about eight weeks before the hearing begins. A licence is not an opening date either. The fit-out, staff and stock still have to be in place.

What it has to arrange before opening day

Requirement	The rule	Who it brings in
Food business registration	With the local authority, at least 28 days before trading	Kitchen, refrigeration and extraction suppliers
Employers’ liability insurance	From the first employee, for at least £5 million	Insurance brokers
Fire risk assessment	Carried out by the responsible person and reviewed regularly	Fire safety firms
Commercial waste	A registered carrier, and a waste transfer note for each load	Waste contractors
Planning permission for works	For work that materially changes the outside of the building (England)	Shopfitters, sign makers and extraction installers

How to make contact

Write to the company, not the individual. Where the applicant is a person, CiviFlow shows “individual applicant” and nothing that identifies them.
Say who you are and let your number be displayed when you call.
Check the rules first: a company and a sole trader are treated differently for marketing emails, and numbers on the TPS or CTPS cannot be called unless the business has agreed.
Do not call a business again once it has objected.

CiviFlow sends the new applications in your councils every Monday at 7am, with the company behind each one and, where the council publishes it, the date the period for comments closes, so you know how long you have.

Get a free sample for a council we cover

Questions

Is it too late once the licence has been granted?: Not always. A licence is not an opening date, so the fit-out, staff and stock can still be under way. But the operator will have made more of its choices by then, so the earlier you are, the more is left to decide.
What about a venue that is changing hands?: Look for licence transfers. A transfer moves the licence to a new holder, which usually means the business has changed hands, and new owners tend to refit and review their suppliers. Transfers need no newspaper notice, so they appear only on the council’s register.
Which applications are worth a call?: New applications, full variations and transfers. A change of designated premises supervisor or a minor variation rarely means spending, so CiviFlow leaves them out of the list.

Written by

Oliver Stocks-Fryer, Founder of CiviFlow

Oliver’s background is in commercial contract flooring and finance. CiviFlow comes from that work: on the supply side of a fit-out, the jobs you win are the ones you hear about early.