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Licensing

There are now strict rules to ensure that only those able to provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates.

From 6 April 2026, anyone other than licensed zoos and certain medical research facilities keeping primates must have a primate keeper licence. Primates include:

  • Marmosets
  • Tamarins
  • Squirrel Monkeys
  • Spider Monkeys
  • Capuchin Monkeys
  • Lemurs
  • Lorisids (also known as bush babies)

Existing private primate keepers can apply for a primate licence from April 2025. By April 2026, all private primate keepers and people proposing to keep a primate will be required to hold a licence. Licences will be valid for a maximum of three years, with further assessment to ensure continued compliance on renewal.

From April 2026, keeping a primate without a primate keeper licence will be a criminal offence. A conviction for unlicensed keeping of a primate carries a penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to six months, an unlimited fine, or both.

The regulations on keeping primates can be read here:

The Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024

Apply for a licence

You will be able to apply for a licence from 6 April 2025.

Information on how to apply and the requirements of the Regulations can be found on the Primate Keeper Licence page of the Worcestershire Regulatory Services website.

If you already hold a premises licence and want to make changes to it, you can apply for a variation of the licence.

If you are only looking to make small changes to the licence, that will not impact on the promotion of the licensing objectives, it may be possible to apply for a minor variation of the premises licence. Minor variations are subject to a simplified application process and a lower application fee.

Guidance on variation applications can be found  on the GOV.UK website.

Apply online

We are currently unable to process online applications via the GOV.UK portal. If you wish you submit an online application please:

Make the required payment via the Council's pay-it webpage, by choosing 'Licensing (Regulatory Services)' and then 'Premises Licence' payment option. See the 'Fees' section below to find out the fee that will be applicable to your application.

Email completed application forms (a link to the application form is available below), all accompanying documentation and proof of payment to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please ensure that proof of payment is included with your application email.

Apply by post

Post your printed out application form to:

Licensing (Worcester City Council), Wyre Forest House, Finepoint Way, Kidderminster, DY11 7WF

When making the application by post, you must also send copies of the application to all of the responsible authorities for consultation. The Responsible Authorities are listed here:

A public notice must be displayed at the premises and published in a local newspaper, circular or similar document during the required consultation period. A template for you to use for this purpose can be downloaded below. Please note that the notice displayed at the relevant premises must be printed on light blue paper.

Fees

A table of the fees that must be paid for applications made under the Licensing Act 2003 can be found on our licensing fees and charges page.

You can find out the non-domestic rateable value of the relevant premises by visiting the Valuation Office Agency website.

Will tacit consent apply?

Yes. After the 28 day consultation period has expired, if no representations have been received from responsible authorities or other persons, then the licence is granted with the variations applied. We will issue the licence shortly after.

If there is a representation from a responsible authority or other person then this will cause the application to be considered by the Licensing Sub-Committee. A hearing will be arranged within 20 working days from the date the application is made.

The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 ("the Regulations") introduced a fit and proper person test for mobile home site owners or the person appointed to manage the site, unless exempted by the Regulations.

What does this mean for site owners?

From 1 October 2021, unless the site is exempt, the site owner must be a fit and proper person to lawfully operate a park home site, or have a fit and proper site manager in place

What must a site owner do?

Site owners operating a relevant protected site must apply between 1 July 2021 and 1 October 2021 to us for the relevant person (themselves or their appointed manager) to be included in the local register of fit and proper persons to manage a site.

A site owner may only apply if they hold or have applied for a site licence for the site.

To request an application form, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01905 822799.

The applicant seeking entry on the register will need a basic DBS certificate (dated no more than 6 months before the date of the application) and this must be included with the application. The DBS certificate must be from an approved supplier. Information about how to arrange a DBS check can be found on the Government's website.

Application cost

  • There is currently no fee required to submit an application.
  • Application fee for inclusion on the register of fit and proper persons - licensing fees and charges

Exempt sites

A site is exempt if it's "a non-commercial family occupied site". This is one:

  • only occupied by members of the same family, and
  • not being run on a commercial basis

The regulations provide further detail about this exemption, see The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 for more details.

What we will consider

To be happy that the relevant person is a fit and proper person to manage the site, and to add them to the register, we will consider:

  • past compliance with the site licence
  • the long-term maintenance of the site
  • whether the relevant person has a sufficient level of competence to manage the site
  • the management structure and funding arrangements for the site or proposed management structure and funding arrangements

We will also consider whether the relevant person:

  • has the right to work within the UK
  • has committed any offence involving fraud or other dishonesty, violence, arson or drugs or listed in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (offences attracting notification requirements)
  • has contravened any provision of the law relating to housing, caravan sites, mobile homes, public health, planning or environmental health or of landlord and tenant law
  • has contravened any provision of the Equality Act 2010 in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
  • has harassed any person in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
  • has had an application rejected by any other local authority
  • is, or has been within the past 10 years, personally insolvent
  • is, or has been within the last 10 years, disqualified from acting as a company director


We also may consider the conduct of any person associated or formerly associated with the relevant person (whether on a personal, work or other basis), if it appears that person's conduct is relevant.

We can also consider any evidence on any other relevant matters.

 

Cafe with outdoor seating

Cafes, restaurants and bars can now apply for a licence to have seating outside their premises under a new streamlined procedure

The Business and Planning Act 2020 includes urgent provisions to make it easier for premises in England serving food and drink such as bars, restaurants and pubs to seat and serve customers outdoors through temporary changes to planning procedures and alcohol licensing. This is part of the Act’s aims of promoting economic recovery and growth in response to the economic impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

The new process provides a streamlined and cheaper route for businesses such as cafes, restaurants and bars to secure a licence to place furniture on the highway. The aim of the legislation is to support businesses to operate safely while social distancing measures remain in place. The aim is to provide much-needed income over the summer months and protect as many hospitality jobs as possible.

Find out more and apply to Worcestershire Regulatory Services for a pavement licence.

Apply for a Pavement Licence

Club Premises Certificates are licences which authorise qualifying clubs to use club premises for "qualifying club activities" which are:

  • The supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to a member for consumption on the premises
  • The sale by retail of alcohol by or on behalf of a club, to a guest of a member for consumption on the premises
  • The provision of regulated entertainment by or on behalf of a club for its members and guests.

See the pages below for more information.

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