Make a complaint about a licensed premises

Who to report a problem to

Issues involving a licensed premises, licence holder or licensable activity should be reported to the relevant licensing authority (either Adur District Council or Worthing Borough Council) by calling the Licensing Unit
Incidents of crime or anti-social behaviour should be reported to Sussex Police:
- by calling 101
- or online: Report a crime, issue or incident on the Sussex Police website
- If there is an emergency please call 999

What happens when you make a licensing complaint to us

Our licensing officers will investigate your complaint and then respond to your enquiry. To help our investigation please provide the following information:

your name
your contact details
the name and address of the premises concerned
as much information as possible relating to the complaint

In some instances it will be appropriate for us to pass the matter on to the relevant responsible authority to look into such as the Police, Environmental Health Team, Trading Standards, etc.

Your details will not be passed on to the licensee or business concerned without your prior consent.

What action we can take

We recognise the enormous value businesses operating in Adur and Worthing bring to both the local economy and the community. We want to help businesses to operate effectively within the law, whilst causing as little disturbance to the public as possible.

When investigating any complaints or taking enforcement action the licensing team will act in accordance with our enforcement policy, and work to ensure a fair and consistent approach to all parties involved.

Factors such as the seriousness of the issue and whether there has been a history of similar incidents will be taken into account when any form of enforcement action is being considered.

Depending on the type of licence enforcement, options can range from:

informal advice
formal warnings
modification of the terms of the licence
exclusion of a licensable activity from the scope of the licence
removal of the designated premises supervisor because the problems are the result of poor management
suspension of the licence
revocation of a licence
or prosecution

See:

Public Health & Regulation Enforcement Policy - 2023 (4,031KB)

Apply for a review of a premises licence

You can apply to the licensing authority, via the licensing unit, to review a premises licence in the case of serious or ongoing problems, or when you believe the issue relates to one or more of the: