Applying for a licence in Hackney? Your notice has to appear in a local newspaper soon after you apply. Talk to us before you submit your application and we will help you time it to our next issue. We can usually get you a quote the same working day.
Get in touch with Ben Cawthra — notices@hackneycitizen.co.uk · 07709 302907
Do you actually need a newspaper notice?
Not every application needs one, and there is no point paying for a notice you are not required to place. In broad terms:
You do need a newspaper notice for:
- A new premises licence or club premises certificate
- A full variation of an existing premises licence
- A provisional statement
- Massage and special treatment (MST) licences
- Some goods vehicle operator licences and other business licences
You do not need a newspaper notice for:
- A minor variation to a premises licence. These require a white notice displayed at the premises for 10 working days, but no newspaper advertisement and no copies to responsible authorities.
- A transfer of a premises licence, or an interim authority notice.
If you are not sure which category you fall into, send us the form you have been given and we will tell you — at no charge, and even if the answer is that you do not need us.
Check your own paperwork first. Requirements differ between licence types. Hackney's guidance for massage and special treatment (MST) licences gives you 7 days to get the newspaper notice published, not the 10 working days that apply to premises licences. Always work to the deadline on your own form, not to this page.
The Hackney deadlines
For a new premises licence application to Hackney Council:
The notice at the premises must be A4 or larger, on pale blue paper, printed or typed in black at 16pt or above, and readable from outside. If your premises covers more than 50 square metres you will need additional notices along the perimeter.
Miss the newspaper deadline and the licence cannot be granted. You would need to start the application again.
For a massage and special treatment (MST) licence, the newspaper deadline is shorter:
Publish with the Hackney Citizen
We are named by Hackney Council. The Hackney Citizen is listed on the council's LA04 newspaper notice form for premises licences, and Hackney's guidance for massage and special treatment licences names us as one of only two local papers to use. We also regularly publish notices for other business licences.
We are the largest-circulating newspaper in Hackney. The Hackney Citizen prints 5,000 copies of every issue, distributed free across the borough. Your notice is not a box-ticking exercise — its legal purpose is to tell people in the area what is being proposed. It does that better in the paper that more of them actually read.
You get proof of publication. We send you a dated certificate confirming your notice appeared, together with a copy of the page and the issue date, in the form licensing officers expect. Keep it with your application file.
Your notice also appears online, where residents and objectors can find notices by area — so you can demonstrate you advertised properly in both print and digital form.
You deal with a real person at the Hackney Citizen. If your deadline is tight, say so in your first email and we will tell you straight away whether we can make the next issue.
What we need from you
Send these and we can quote immediately:
- The completed notice form from the council (for a premises licence this is the LA04 newspaper notice), or the exact wording you have been told to publish
- The date your application was submitted to the council, so we can confirm your deadline
- The licence type you are applying for
- Your billing details and a purchase order reference if you need one
Send the wording exactly as the council has given it to you. We set notices verbatim — we will flag an obvious typo, but we do not rewrite the legal text.
Get in touch with Ben Cawthra — notices@hackneycitizen.co.uk · 07709 302907
Deadlines and publication dates
The Hackney Citizen is published fortnightly. Our copy deadline for notices is two days before publication, Enquire about our next publication dates:
Get in touch with Ben Cawthra — notices@hackneycitizen.co.uk · 07709 302907
Your deadline runs from the day you submit your application, so the easiest way to make our next issue is to contact us before you submit. If you have already applied and your deadline will pass before our next issue, tell us. We will say so rather than take the booking.
Prices
Get in touch with Ben Cawthra — notices@hackneycitizen.co.uk · 07709 302907
All notices include proof of publication and online publication at no extra cost.
Other notices we publish
Probate and trustee notices (Section 27, Trustee Act 1925). Placed by executors, usually through a solicitor, to invite unknown creditors before an estate is distributed. Notices should be advertised where the deceased lived, so a Hackney estate belongs in a Hackney paper. Placing one protects the personal representative from personal liability for claims that emerge later. We publish alongside your London Gazette notice and provide proof of publication for your file.
Planning and development notices. Including notices required for applications affecting listed buildings, conservation areas and public rights of way.
Company, insolvency and creditor notices.
Traffic orders and road closures.
For probate and planning notices, contact Ben Cawthra — notices@hackneycitizen.co.uk · 07709 302907
For solicitors, licensing consultants and agents
If you place notices on behalf of clients, get in touch with Ben Cawthra — notices@hackneycitizen.co.uk · 07709 302907
Questions we get asked
Will Hackney Council accept a notice in the Hackney Citizen? Yes. The Hackney Citizen is one of the newspapers listed on Hackney Council's LA04 newspaper notice form, which the council tells premises licence applicants to send to a local paper. Hackney's guidance for massage and special treatment licences also names the Hackney Citizen as one of two local papers to use. Publishing with us meets the requirement for a notice in a local Hackney newspaper.
Does the notice have to be in a printed newspaper? Yes. Hackney Council requires your notice to appear in a local Hackney newspaper: within 10 working days of applying for a premises licence, or within 7 days for an MST licence. It does not offer an online or newsletter alternative. If someone tells you a web or email notice will do, get Hackney's Licensing Service to confirm it in writing before you rely on it, because an application that has not been advertised properly cannot be granted.
Who do objections go to? Not to us. Representations must be made in writing to Hackney Council's Licensing Service at the Hackney Service Centre, 1 Hillman Street, London E8 1DY, and must address one of the four licensing objectives: prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, prevention of public nuisance, and protection of children from harm. We publish the notice; the council decides the application.
I have already missed the deadline. What now?
Speak to the council's Licensing Service. In most cases the application has to be resubmitted and re-advertised. We can turn a notice round quickly once your new submission date is confirmed.
How do I find out what licences are being applied for near me? Search Hackney Council's licensing register at hackney.gov.uk/licensing.
The Hackney Citizen is an independent newspaper, locally owned and published fortnightly in the London Borough of Hackney. Publishing a notice with us supports local journalism in the borough — but nothing in our editorial coverage is affected by whether you advertise with us. We publish notices as a legal service; we report on licensing decisions independently.