EMRO
Hartlepool pubs face proposal to restrict opening hours
Publicans operating venues which are licensed to serve alcohol until 4am could face a blow to trade as the Safer Hartlepool Partnership is set to ask Hartlepool Borough Council to enforce Early Morning Restriction Orders (EMRO), meaning they would have to close at 2am.
Report
The proposal is fuelled by a report which concluded that alcohol misuse was costing £30m a year, a third of people attending minor industries were under the influence of alcohol and drinking had strong links to violence in the area.
Chief superintendant Gordon Lang reported: “You think about what that does to resources to tackle it, it completely shifts the demand and the requirement for having people there to be able to deal with the inevitable, sadly, outcomes that transpire as a consequence of a lot of people and a lot of alcohol being in the same place wanting a taxi and some food.”
This isn’t the first time pubs in Hartlepool have faced shortening of hours, as in 2012 ago police and health professionals asked for an EMRO to be enforced, which was rejected by Hartlepool Council.
Opposition
Pub companies Marston’s JD Wetherspoon, Punch Taverns and Stonegate all made representations against the controversial measures, and the proposal could face similar opposition if it is revisited.
In 2012, concerns were raised over the evidence used to support the EMRO.
A statement read out at the hearing said: "Hartlepool Borough Council does not believe that any level of violence or anti-social behaviour should be regarded as an acceptable or inevitable consequence of a vibrant night time economy.
"The Licensing Committee recognises the significant improvements that have been made to the town centre in terms of reducing violence but will consider the use of every tool made available to it to make Hartlepool’s town centre a safer place to live, work and visit.
"The Licensing Committee has considered the representations made by all parties and is satisfied that an Early Morning Alcohol Restriction Order could play a role in reducing violence still further but is mindful of the concerns raised by local licensees that a reduction in opening hours, in the current economic climate, could have serious consequences for the viability of their businesses.
"The Licensing Committee has determined not to recommend the introduction of an Early Morning Alcohol Restriction Order at the current time but intends to revisit the issue next year to establish whether local licensees, and in particular the Hartlepool Licensees Association, have taken responsibility for continuing the previous improvements."
