Swansea pubs favour proposed licence restriction policy
Swansea Council has said the number of licensed venues in the area has reached “saturation point” and proposed a policy to halt new pubs, clubs, restaurants and off-licences being granted licences along Wind Street, Kingsway, High Street and College Road.
It follows a report by South Wales Police that showed there were 963 alcohol-related crimes in Wind Street alone in 2012-13. The "cumulative impact" measures will be discussed at a full Council meeting tomorrow evening.
Liz Gregory, manager of the Alchemy pub No Sign Wine Bar on Wind Street, welcomed the proposal and agreed that there are already enough licensed premises in the area.
“There is an abundance of pubs in the city centre,” she said. “The Council could not reasonably grant any more licences anyway."
Eddie Gershon, Wetherspoon spokesman for the Bank Statement pub on Wind Street, added: “Wetherspoon has enjoyed great success with its pubs in Swansea. Although we have no plans to open any more in Wind Street, we would welcome the chance to discuss the council’s proposed policy.”
There are more than 250 licensed premises in Swansea city centre which the Council said has contributed to rising crime and disorder.
Leader of Swansea Council David Phillips said: "The crime figures and the number of complaints the Council is receiving suggests that it's now time to accept the number of licences in the area has reached saturation point and something needs to be done to control the number of alcohol licences granted in the future.”
At the moment the Council does not have the power to prevent an alcohol licence being granted on the basis that there are already too many pubs, clubs or off-licences in a particular area, but if the policy is approved any new licensing applications could be rejected if police, fire or health and safety officials fear the overall impact would increase alcohol-related incidents.
This means licence applicants will have to prove to the Council's Licensing Committee that their proposal will not have a negative impact in the area.
A similar scheme is already in force in Cardiff, covering areas around St Mary's Street in the city centre.
June Burtonshaw, Swansea Council's cabinet member for Place, there were 384 complaints to the council about licensed premises in the Castle ward in 2011-12, 57% of them in Wind Street.
Meanwhile, South Wales Police estimates that policing Swansea city centre after dark requires 20 officers clocking up an average of 600 hours a week and costing nearly £600,000 a year.
