Calls to give LAs more control over pubs rejected
The government has rejected MPs' calls to give local authorities more powers to regulate and control pubs and bars in town and city centres.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) said that existing planning and licensing regulations combined with measures in the new Licensing Act would help local councils to manage any potential increases in public disorder.
It was responding to August's recommendations from MPs on the select committee at the ODPM, which called on the government to restrict the density and cumulative impact of bars, pubs and clubs. It wanted each local council to be able to issue capacity limits on venues to reduce the number of people in city centres.
Speaking at the Local Government Association's conference on the evening economy last week, ODPM head of planning policy Michael Bach said: "We want to make much better use of existing partnership arrangements and existing strategies and plans, to use them more effectively to manage the evening economy."
Andrew Cunningham, head of alcohol and entertainment policy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, told the conference that the new Licensing Act will provide councils with enough tools, such as licensing policy statements, to control "cumulative impact" locally.
Mark Hastings, spokesman for the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "There are already more than enough powers in planning law to ensure that the right balance of businesses are in town centres.
"It is good that the government has delivered on its assurances. Capacity limits is not the road to go down. Every application will be judged individually on its merits."
Chester MP Christine Russell, who chairs the ODPM's urban affairs sub-committee that produced the original report, said she was "disappointed" by the government's response.
Further local control blocks
Michael Bach, ODPM's head of planning policy, said the government had also rejected calls to give local authorities new powers to impose levies on licensed premises to cover street cleansing, policing, night buses and other extra costs created by later opening.
He pointed to existing powers, for example section 108 agreements that require developers to fund extra services as part of planning consent. He also said it was likely that licensees would contribute to extra services through the new business improvement districts, which will be funded out of an extra levy on business rates.
Related articles:
MPs call for local authorities to restrict licences (1 August 2003)
