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Warwick Food & Drink

Alcohol policy

Guidelines for the sale and service of alcoholic beverages across campus
The University of Warwick has a number of areas that provide a provision for the sale, service and consumption of alcohol and designated licensable activity:

  1. Rootes Building
  2. Rootes Grocery Store
  3. Warwick Arts Centre
  4. Training and Conference Centres (Scarman, Arden and Radcliffe)
  5. Café Humanities
  6. Fields Licence (this covers specified outdoor areas including the piazza)
  7. Cryfield Pavilion
  8. University House Restaurant and Atrium
  9. Students Union (operates independantly)

From the above licences through Rootes Building (1) and Rootes Grocery Store (2) we are able to provide a full provision for the sale, service and consumption of alcohol and provide the licensing to all academic and external areas required for licensed events under the following business areas:

  • Warwick Conference Park and Events or Warwick Food and Drink
  • Warwick Retail (Rootes Grocery Store)

The Licensing Act of 2003 (Law in 2005) states that the Premises Licence Holders (PLH) on campus have the following responsibilities in promoting the licensing objectives, which are:

  • Prevention of crime and disorder
  • Public safety
  • Public nuisance
  • Prevention and protection of children from harm

''Failure to comply and meet the objectives, may lead to criminal prosecution and imprisonment, severe financial penalties and loss of licence to the Holder and all other University licences.’’

The Act states that ''the sale and provision of alcohol should be authorised by a Designated Premises Supervisor” (DPS) a condition of all Premises Licences. Failure to ensure that the provision of alcoholic beverages for consumption on or off the premises (University campus) is undertaken in a professional and responsible manner with high standards of due diligence, will reflect adversely on the University itself and the commercial viability of internal services.

Therefore, in the interests of safety for students, faculty, contractors, staff and members of the public, the sale and consumption of all alcohol within the University should only be purchased from outlets managed by the University of Warwick.

You can order alcohol from:

  • Warwick Conference Park and Events - Extension 23789
  • Warwick Retail/Rootes Grocery Store - Extension 24730

Other areas:

Students Union - Alcohol purchased in the Students Union, may only be consumed on the Students Union premises unless for a private event off campus.

How it works and how to manage your event:
When organising an event on campus which involves the provision and consumption of alcohol, or licensable activity, you will need to take steps to ensure that all participants act appropriately, in line with the licensing objectives detailed above.

To support licensing compliance and to ensure the smooth running of events, it is recommended that events with 100 guests or more are supervised/staffed. Warwick Conference Park and Events are the provider of trained and qualified staff that satisfy the licensing requirement for campus activities involving alcohol.

Alternatively, if staffing is not required for an event, support and guidance can be given at the time of booking as to how this needs to be managed. A guideline as to what is required can be provided once details have been taken via the Events office. Should staff not be required, all organisers making bookings must ensure that a responsible adult (who is over 18) signs the licensing obligation form, which sets out the acceptance of certain responsibilities, mainly the management of the consumption of alcohol at the event. This form will be forwarded at the time of booking.

Please note that any alcohol served in an open public space must be staffed, regardless of the number of attendees.

Options
You will need to decide which of the following you are going to do:

  1. Customers/Clients buy alcohol through Warwick Conference Park and Events or Rootes Grocery Store and Warwick Conference Park and Events then manage the event and serve alcohol.
  2. Customers/Clients buy alcohol from Warwick Conference Park and Events or Rootes Grocery Store and sign the licensing obligation form agreeing to take responsibility for the service of alcohol themselves and to adhere to the licensing objectives, as in the alcohol policy.

Note:
Alcohol purchased from Rootes Grocery Store cannot be consumed in any of the other University Licensed areas as listed above.

Glasses can be hired via Warwick Conference Park and Events at a charge of £0.50 per glass and includes the delivery, collection and washing of the glasses. The cost does not cover the removal and recycling of empty bottles.

Staffing costs for alcohol purchased:
Via Warwick Conference Park and Events - For events of 50 or less, one member of staff at a cost of £50.00

The staff costs cover for one member of staff for a 3 hour shift - including the setup, service and clear down of the event and will support approximately 1 - 1.5 hours service time. Additional hours will be charged at £15.00 per hour.

Outdoor events
Should your event be outdoors and have licensable activity (this includes entertainment) we request that you:

  1. Book one of the areas covered under the current “Fields Licence” (areas outside currently licensed) applied for via Warwick Conference Park and Events with a licence application.
  2. Apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN’s) via Warwick Conference Park and Events.

These would be dependent on location, size and nature of event. Depending on the location both of the above may be required and further costs will be incurred.