Trade: circuit hot spots are not 'representative' Licensing
by Ewan Turney
The Home Office has chosen five notorious circuit-drinking hot spots as the basis of its review of the impact of the Licensing Act on crime and disorder.
Trade leaders have written to the Home Office arguing that its choice of Birmingham, Black-pool, Croydon, Guildford and Nottingham is 'in no way representative and 'would not provide a sound basis for the review.
Birmingham's Broad Street area sees 20,000 revellers gather each weekend; Croydon suffered from rioting during Euro 2004; and problems in Nottingham have been well-documented following last year's Panorama documentary. Home Office officials said it was not possible to include rural areas.
Rob Hayward, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), has claimed that the sample is not geographically sound. He said: 'Blackpool is truly unique, Croydon and Guildford are less than 30 miles apart, the two Midlands cities are only 50 miles apart and there is no Welsh location.
The BBPA urged Home Office officials to change their minds and suggested that an alternative list of Birmingham, Croydon, Exeter, Newcastle and Newport is 'much more representative.
Hayward added: 'Our proposal includes two of the original list, a national nightspot which is also at the centre of a northern conurbation, a major Welsh city and a tourist centre which is also a university city. The proposed split spans the length of the country and includes areas of, if not all, three of the nation's major conurbations.
The review will look at issues such as simplicity of form-filling and fee levels and whether the four aims of the Licensing Act are being met.
