RSVP Bar
Brooker's clean-up crusade
Hugh Brooker is a man on a mission. Not content with running one of the 10 best-performing sites in Laurel Pub Company's managed estate the RSVP bar in Bath's George Street Brooker is in the front line of efforts to clean up the historic city's night-time economy.
Topping the list of his achievements is the establishment of the Bath Bar Charter Group, a forum for everyone with a stake in the Bath pub and club scene, from licensees to local councillors.
But Brooker has been instrumental in other community initiatives too. These include the local Bar Safe group, which operates a "banned from one, banned from all" policy; a "Spiked" campaign to raise awareness of date-rape drugs; and a much-praised taxi-marshal scheme.
Eighteen months ago, Brooker was approached by Inspector Paul Mogg of Bath police, who wanted to reduce the problems of noise, litter and violence caused by drinkers leaving pubs and clubs and congregating at the city's main taxi pick-up point in Orange Grove. Mogg's suggestion was that licensees' door staff should leave their premises at closing time and accompany groups of customers to the taxi ranks. But Brooker came up with an alternative: using an independent security company that manages the crowds at sporting venues such as Twickenham and Bath Rugby Club.
Within a month, the taxi-marshal scheme was up and running, and was quickly hailed a huge success. Professional security staff now shepherd groups of drinkers to the taxi queues, keeping a lid on noise and helping to diffuse any violence. But they also provide "an extra pair of eyes and ears" for the police, helping cut minor annoyances such as drinkers urinating on the walls of Bath Abbey which wouldn't otherwise be dealt with.
The taxi-marshal scheme was initially paid for by Bath Door Safe, a partnership between the council, police and licensed trade. It was so successful that funding has now been taken over by the council's community safety unit, with extra cash coming from the Home Office. And Brooker adds: "We're currently in discussions about extending the scheme over a wider area of the city during the Christmas period."
Brooker moved to Bath in 1987 and, apart from a three-year stint in Gloucester, has worked in the city's licensed trade ever since. Nowadays he is general manager of RSVP, a 400-capacity bar-restaurant at the head of Bath's main shopping street, and lives above the premises with his wife and two young children. In his dual capacity as resident and licensee, he is passionate about ensuring Bath is a clean, safe place in which to live, work and enjoy life. "I do take it personally," he says.
Bath hardly tops the UK list for alcohol-related crime and disorder. But its mix of historic, commercial and residential properties compressed into a relatively small area by the surrounding hills creates special problems.
"I've visited sites in all the major cities," says Brooker, "and what makes Bath unique compared with, say, Bristol, is that we have residents living above every single premises. So whereas the centre of Bristol becomes a playground at night, Bath has to strike more of a balance. It's a living, breathing city."
Hence the establishment of the Bath Bar Charter group. In setting up the forum, Brooker intended to identify and address issues between residents and licensees before they could escalate into time-consuming and expensive legaldisputes.
Group meetings bring together representatives of the police, local council, licensees, residents' groups, Chamber of Commerce, students' unions (Bath is home to two universities) and the wider business community.
The agenda can be wide-ranging, with discussions covering public safety and crime prevention, street management, refuse and recycling, licensing and responsible retailing policies, and transport and parking.
But it's not just a talking shop. Licensees who sign up to the charter commit themselves to developing, sharing and adopting best-practice procedures, and to managing their sites in a way that avoids any negative impact on both the residential and business communities.
The scheme has been strongly supported by police and councillors. But Brooker has been disappointed by the take-up so far by licensees: "The charter group has a list of 52 pubs and bars, and we send information to all of them. But only 20% of them have signed up so far even though it only costs £15 a year. All but two of the clubs have signed up but, surprisingly, it's the independents who haven't. We're still getting people saying what's in it for me?'."
Some independents, he says, feel their interests are already well served by the local Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA). But Brooker feels this misses the point. "The LVA is about looking after the licensees' interests, but it doesn't have the pooling of ideas. The Bath Bar Charter Group is, to use a bit of jargon, for all the stakeholders in the night-time economy."
Thorough and involved
RSVP won for its comprehensive approach to social responsibility, and its close local involvement, as evidenced by the Bath Bar Charter Group.
Others shortlisted: the Testwood Hotel, Southampton; the Swan Hotel, Stafford.
