Smoking out a solution

The MA's Plan for the Ban roadshow in Newquay, Cornwall, offered plenty of advice to help licensees prepare for the big stub-out. John Harrington reports

Icy temperatures and gale-force winds were not enough to deter a determined band of dedicated licensees from gaining expert advice on the smoking ban, as the MA's Plan for the Ban roadshow reached the popular Cornish tourist resort of Newquay.

Although it was hardly a day for sun-hats and donkey rides, conditions were perfect for highlighting a key challenge ahead - how to accommodate smokers outside while the British weather does its worst.

Inclement weather was just one issue discussed at the event, held at the recently-refurbished Fort pub, a managed house owned by regional brewer St Austell and located on a cliff-top with stunning sea-views.

Event speakers were:

l Simon Evans and Shelly Tookey, the Fort

l Adam Luck, St Austell estates director

l Roger Bateson, Crown Awnings regional sales manager

l Fiona Andrews, Department of Health

l Jade Rowse, Restormel Borough Council senior licensing officer

The MA has picked out 11 key points from the advice contributed by representatives of companies supporting the Plan for the Ban campaign:

1. Diversify to survive

Some pubs will close - so diversification is vital. Luck said the majority of St Austell's pubs will trade well after the ban kicks in, but he sounded a down-beat warning for some sites:

"Pubs with no outside areas and where hosts don't do food are likely to be problematic - they are the ones whose future we are going to focus on," he said. "Many pubs will not be viable, but on the whole I think the majority of premises will be able to adapt."

Luck highlighted his fear that gaming-machine income is likely to fall once the ban begins. "That's a fairly major threat and there's clear evidence it will decline," he said.

Pointing to figures from tobacco firm Gallagher that found 19 pubs had closed in Scotland since the smoking ban last March, he added: "Personally I don't think that's so depressing - a lot of them would have closed anyway. I'm confident the English ban won't cause a mass of pub closures."

2. Expect new customers

But it's not all doom and gloom, Luck emphasised. "We all believe a large proportion of the population doesn't visit pubs at the moment because of the smoky atmosphere. Those are the customers we must attract," he said.

Andrews added: "A lot of people don't go to pubs because they are asthmatic or suffer from other respiratory problems. As 75% of people don't smoke, the main question is about how we are going to attract them."

3. Recruit new licensees

Last week experts at Shepherd Neame stressed that a smoke-free atmosphere was likely to help pubs employ and retain staff. Luck emphasised that the same will be true of licensees. "I think we will get more people applying to the trade for positions as tenants and managers. That's a big opportunity," he said.

4. Vigilance pays off

With more people standing outside to smoke once the ban begins, Luck warned that it's crucial to stay alert. "I think this type of atmosphere [with people standing outside] is going to cause trouble in residential areas. Licensees and staff will have to be vigilant in clearing up fags and making sure there are good bins outside. Otherwise, local authorities will act."

5. Think about winter

Luck said smoking shelters will have been installed at 25% of St Austell's 165-strong estate by the time the ban begins in England on 1 July. The budget for each site is about £15,000 and Luck expects work to end by November.

"The message is not about getting them all done by July, but they will be done by November. I think people will be happy to smoke in the garden [during summer]. Winter will be the time when it will hit hardest."

Luck added: "I believe trade will drop, particularly in the first winter. Die-hard smokers will stay at home [at first], but then there will be a significant opportunity to build trade."

6. Keep your customers

Bateson stressed the importance to pubs of holding on to existing smoking customers in order to keep profits up. Crown Awnings calculated that the average pub turning over £390,000 a year will see turnover fall by £46,800 if they lose just 20% of their smoking customers.

Pubs losing half of their smokers will see turnover plummet by £117,000. These levels are based on figures obtained by Crown that say 43% of pub-goers are smokers.

7. Keep spare signs

It will be compulsory to display no-smoking signs at entrances once the ban begins, but Andrews advised pubs to keep a few spare signs in stock. "To my amazement, people take signs away with them," she said.

8. Deal with noise

Expect a big increase in complaints about noise outside pubs. Rowse said Restormel Borough Council expects these to increase by 300% once the smoking ban begins. "Customers will have to go outside where neighbours will complain about them talking and laughing. Think of measures to address that."

9. Consider saturation zones

Previous roadshows have emphasised the need to think about restrictions specific to an area before putting up a smoking shelter. Obtaining planning permission can be difficult if the pub is within a conservation area, green belt, or Site of Special Scientific Interest. But the location can also affect the licensing side.

Rowse said licensees need to check whether their pub is in a designated saturation zone as they could face problems if they want to vary their licence. She added that a pub host wishing to extend a licence to cover a new area may face difficulty if there is a designated Alcohol Restriction Zone.

10. Issue non-smoking reminders

Tookey said that all staff at the venue have been sent letters reminding them not to smoke with their coffee when they arrive in the morning from 1 July onwards.

She also stressed that it was essential to have signs reminding people not to have a "crafty puff" in the toilets. Signs displayed at the Fort already remind customers that smoking will be banned in the pub from 1 July.

11. Use food uniquely

Brakes regional sales manager Jonathan Keeble told delegates: "We are trying to encourage your outlet to become a destination pub and you will need a unique selling point. That could be Cumberland sausages or baguettes, for example - or you might want to advertise the fact that all your products are GM-free."

VIEWS OF A LICENsEE

"The roadshow was extremely useful," said John Coak, tenant at St Austell's North Inn, a village pub in Pendeen, on the north coast of Cornwall. "I came away feeling more positive about the ban. But I think people like me who are involved with rural pubs will find it a bit sticky for a while." Coak is applying for planning permission for a free-standing wooden shelter with a slate roof to install in his garden. He expects it to cost about £1,500, funded by St Austell and factored into the rent. But Coak stressed that shelters may not guarantee a pleasant outside experience in blustery Pendeen, and while the inn has a good food trade, it may be hard to expand. "People tend to visit nearby Penzance for meals, so we rely on tourists and locals, many of whom smoke," he explained.

to expand the food offer may not prove