West Oxfordshire District Council

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Licensing and Regulation

The District Council is responsible for issuing the following types of licences and registrations:

Premises, Club Premises or Personal Licences
Essential for all premises serving or supplying alcohol, providing public entertainment or late night refreshment. More information can be found on the Licensing Act 2003 page.

Taxi and Private vehicle hire
For further information and application forms please see the
Taxi and Private Vehicle Hire page.

Gambling
The Gambling Act 2005 gives effect to the Government's proposals for reform of the law on gambling. The Act contains a new regulatory system to govern the provision of all gambling in Great Britain, other than the National Lottery and spread betting. It received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005 and will be introduced in 2006.
More information can be found on the Gambling Act 2005 page.

Animal Welfare Licensing

Boarding establishments
Dog Breeding establishments
Pet shops
Riding establishments
Zoos and dangerous wild animals

For further information please see the Animal Welfare Licensing page.

Food
which includes:

Food business registration
Food premises approval
Authorisation of butchers for the removal of specified risk material from 24-30 months old bovine carcases

For further information please visit the Food Safety page.

Skin piercing
which includes:

Acupuncture
Cosmetic piercing (encompasses ear piercing and cosmetic body piercing)
Electrolysis
Tattooing
Semi-permanent skin-colouring (encompasses micropigmentation, semi-permanent make-up and temporary tattooing)

For further information please visit the Skin Piercing page.

Health and Safety at Work
The occupiers of certain workplaces must register with the Council. These include retail shops, most offices, hotels, pubs and catering establishments, sports, leisure, consumer services, places of worship and some warehouses.
Please visit the Health and Safety page for more information.

Cooling towers and evaporative condensers
All premises having cooling towers or evaporative condensers must notify the Council. A notification form is available on the Health and Safety page.

Charity collections:
which includes:

Street collections
House to house collections
Small society lottery licences.

For further information visit the Collecting for Charitable Purposes page.

Environmental Protection:
which includes:

Scrap metal dealers
Industrial Air Pollution Control - Part B and A2 processes

Street trading
See the Street Trading - information for applicants page for more information, including details of prohibited streets and streets with consent for Street Trading.

Houses in Multiple Occupation
As of the 6 April 2006 certain HMOs will require a licence from the Council. See the Houses in Multiple Occupation page for further details.

A legal guide for businesses

If you need any assistance with your business, please download the Staying Legal booklet