Brighton and Hove council boss criticises licensing powers (From The Argus)
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Brighton and Hove council boss criticises licensing powers
8:40pm Wednesday 13th October 2010 in News By Tim Ridgway
Licensing law is “stacked against councils and residents”, officials in Brighton and Hove say.
Despite high levels of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the city, there are 1,378 licensed premises in Brighton and Hove, 142 of which can open 24 hours a day.
City council leader Mary Mears yesterday slammed the “binge-drinking” culture and vowed to support proposed changes to licensing law.
The comments come as figures show nearly 90% of applications for new premises in Brighton and Hove's cumulative impact zone - the area designed to control the number of licensed premises in the city - have been approved in the last two years.
Coun Mears said she backed the raft of proposals put forward by Home Secretary Theresa May.
These include banning retailers from selling drinks at below cost price and allowing councils to charge pubs and clubs an extra fee if they want to stay open late.
Comments(10)
bladebot
says...
9:52pm Wed 13 Oct 10
pyallop
says...
11:05pm Wed 13 Oct 10
Paul Yallop - Leader of Worthing Borough Council
ade1200
says...
11:06pm Wed 13 Oct 10
bladebot wrote:Well thats OK then surely? If customers don't wish to pay then they will go home - so the establishment will revert to normal hours if it is not profitable. If customers do wish to pay then the council receives some recompense for the extra costs associated. Lets hope they intend to pass some of the money received to the ambulance service and hospitals...
Charging an extra fee to stay open late is moot, the pubs and clubs will simply pass that cost on to us...
hoveflyer
says...
12:03am Thu 14 Oct 10
oldmarket
says...
9:52am Thu 14 Oct 10
That's the point Mary Mears is making.
Mr Bluesky
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10:34am Thu 14 Oct 10
Dave At Home wrote:They had to grant the licenses. The new licensing laws Labour brought in were so lax and poorly worded it is almost impossible for the Council or residents to object - look at the number of sleazy lapdancing clubs that have opened in the last decade.
But the Council granted the licences, didn't they? Well who is to blame them....?
That said I hope she doesn't try to go too far and try to take us back to 'every pub closes at 11pm', because frankly that would be awful for the tourism trade we rely upon so much.
TheInsider
says...
1:38pm Thu 14 Oct 10
We wouldn't have the controversy over the Freebutt closing and other pubs being fined for noise if councils did not give certain pubs in residential areas extended opening hours in the first place.
Issuing licences gives businesses and their clients the message that they have permission to operated as a 'venue'. The pub goers and landlords think the licence means their business is fully accepted, only to leave punters disappointed and upset when the other laws (such as noise and anti-social behaviour etc) are used to prevent their business working come into play.
It's like giving someone a present and then saying they can't open it.
jay316
says...
1:54pm Thu 14 Oct 10
Hard times
says...
6:28pm Thu 14 Oct 10
All it takes to shut down part of the heart of the city in today's Brighton, is for people to move into a council house next door to an existing venue and complain.
Dave At Home says...
9:23pm Wed 13 Oct 10