South Lanarkshire Council are confident there will not be a bar-mageddon if unapplied-for personal licences are not renewed.
The deadline for renewing licences which were issued on or before September 1, 2009, is this Friday, May 31.
Of the 632 licences which are due to expire in South Lanarkshire, the council have received 296 applications - 196 of which have been dealt with - but there are still 336 that are outstanding.
However, as there is no way of knowing how many of the unapplied-for personal licences are no longer required, SLC is confident the impact on licensed premises will be minimal.
Head of administration and legal services Geraldine McCann said: “If an application for a personal licence due for renewal on September 1 is not lodged by May 31 then the licensing board will be unable to accept a late application.
“This means that the personal licence will expire on August 31. The licence holder will need to reapply for another licence and there will be no guarantee that the application will be processed in time.
“If a personal licence expires or an application for a new personal licence is not processed in time then that person will not be able to work as a designated premises manager during that period.
“If that was the case someone with a personal licence would need to be appointed to that role to enable the premises to continue to sell alcohol.”
In order to legally sell alcohol, the person who manages and operates a licensed premise is required to have a personal licence.
