Day two: judge warns of licensing 'chaos'
Pubs could be plunged into further chaos under the new Licensing Act, a High Court judge has warned.
The warning came during the second day of the case involving the pub trade's fight against Canterbury Council - in which it claims the council's policy is "over-prescriptive" and unlawful.
Addressing the trade's legal representative, Justice Richards said: "If I was to find in your favour and quash the policy, is that not a recipe for chaos? You are creating even greater difficulties."
The British Beer and Pub Association, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers and the BII claim that Canterbury Council's policy on licensing dictates to licensees and asks them for unnecessary information, leaving them open to prosecution. The groups hope the case will act as a precedent to force other councils to back down from policies which they believe have over-stepped the mark.
But Mark Lowe QC, representing Canterbury Council, said much of the licensing document contained the "language of expectation" and made recommendations to licensees, but it was not unlawful.
On the subject of health and safety assessments, he said: "This is commonplace language for businesses of this sort. It speaks to these employers in a language they should understand and is part of the light-touch of bureaucracy."
In relation to the number of drinkers who can be allowed in a pub, Mr Lowe said: "We suggest the identification of capacity is something that lies within the law for the discretion of the licensing authority.
"It's a core issue for meeting the licensing objectives."
Earlier in the case, barrister David Matthias, representing the pub trade, claimed that Canterbury's policy "flies in the face of the light touch of bureaucracy".
He argued that the system was in danger of being subverted by local authorities into a system that required a far heavier touch than ever existed before.
But Mr Lowe warned that if the council's policy was quashed it would leave it less than two months to adjust it and lead to "administrative chaos".
A decision on the case is now expected within a week, Justice Richards confirmed.
