Legal challenge initiated over Northern Ireland nightlife licensing review
Free The Night called the government’s recent review “a wasted opportunity”
Free The Night, the Belfast-based nightlife campaign group headed up by Holly Lester and Boyd Sleator, has launched a legal challenge in response to a recent independent licensing review.
The review, published in 2025 and produced by the University of Stirling, highlighted current legislation and possible reforms to licensing around nightclubs, pubs, and other “third spaces” in Northern Ireland.
According to Free The Night, the Minister for Communities and their department “wrongfully received evidence” from a third party outside of the independent review, and placed “undue weight” on evidence from a third party.
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The campaign group also argues that the review – which cost £500,000 in public money – was a “wasted opportunity”, one that has “inflated licence values and made it extremely difficult for new, independent and community-led venues to open”.
Free The Night and its co-founder, Holly Lester, are now challenging the Minister, issuing a pre-action protocol letter which will act as the “first step” in a judicial review of the government’s licensing decision.
“This was a real opportunity to transform nightlife in Northern Ireland, and it’s been wasted,” says Lester. “An independent review was commissioned, a huge amount of public money was spent, and in the end, the Minister has chosen to maintain the status quo.”
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She continues: “That decision affects so many aspects of nightlife, including how many venues and nightclubs we have, whether pop-ups and festivals are viable, even down to the price of a pint.”
The challenge is led by Phoenix Law solicitor Darragh Mackin, who has worked on high-profile cases with the likes of Bob Vylan and Kneecap, and asks the Department for Communities to respond within 14 days.
Read Free The Night's statement about the legal challenge here.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on X
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