We all know that local licensing authorities impose technical requirements to ensure the safety of the public, staff and performers in places of entertainment such as theatres, cinemas, discotheques, nightclubs and concert halls. An overhaul of these requirements has been long overdue, largely because the regulations were too specific - with the result that the detailed technical requirements were out of date. Another cause for concern was that the expertise and resources available to individual licensing authorities varied enormously, resulting in inconsistencies between them and varying standards of enforcement.
The new publication incorporates a number of features specifically intended to address these problems. It provides functional requirements supported by technical guidance, and incorporates Model Regulations which detail the standards that should apply to any premises used for entertainment. The Model Regulations will be sent to each Local Authority with a recommendation that they be adopted. This will help to ensure an appropriate and consistent national standard for all entertainment premises.
The publication also deals with the physical requirements for building (or converting,) equipping and maintaining any entertainment premises through a series of related discussions on subjects such as Site, Means of Escape, Building Services and Emergency Systems. The publication is expected to provide invaluable help to licensing authorities and licensees, to technical consultants and managers, not least because it is the result of the District Surveyors Association’s efforts over the past five years. Wisely, they produced it in partnership with the industry and local authorities, and circulated it widely in draft format for pre-publication comment.
An A4 version (price £30 + £5 post and packing) may be purchased from: DSA Publications,PO Box 266, Bromley, Kent BR2 9ZN.
E-mail: ldsa@goldserve.net. An A5 version is available from ABTT, 47 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XT. E-mail: office@abtt.org.uk. Alternatively, you can get a copy from the publisher: Entertainment Technology Press Ltd, 1 Kiln House Yard, Baldock Street, Royston, Herts SG8 5AT.
