Solihull councillors joined staff from the licensing team earlier this month to open a brand new reception area for licensing in The Core.
The team covers a huge number of licensing requests – from private hire and hackney carriage licensing to alcohol, entertainment and late-night refreshment licensing. They also oversee street trading and animal activities licenses, covering pet shops, boarding and even animal training!
Although a lot of their licensing requests can be dealt with online or by email, they have a lot of face-to-face requests, particularly for taxi licensing due to the need for identification checks using original documentation. For some time they were working from the Connect reception area but with an increase in requests they needed a home of their own.
Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Wazma Qais, said: “The team has had a significant increase in demand recently so it’s important that they have a new purpose-built reception area just for licensing customers. Housing the team in The Core means they are easily accessible for enquiries and there is also a private meeting room that can be booked if required.”
Solihull Council’s Licensing Committee Chairman, Cllr Sardul Marwa MBE, JP, added: “Licensing has an impact on all our lives so it’s vital that the team are properly equipped to deal with face-to-face enquiries. It’s good to see the team working in a community space in The Core, helping our customers comply with a huge range of licensing requests.”
To make a licensing enquiry visit https://www.solihull.gov.uk/Business or call into the Licensing Team reception at The Core in Solihull town centre.