Southampton ends minimum price plan

Plans to introduce a minimum price on alcoholic drinks in Southampton have fizzled out.

A group of 21 licensees from pubs, bars and clubs in the Bedford Place area of Southampton met this week to discuss introducing a minimum price of £1.50 on spirits and mixers.

The proposal was aimed at ending a price war, which had seen shots being sold for less than £1, and a significant increase in alcohol-related crime.

Licensees were under pressure from police and the local council to act over prices. In a letter to all licensees, police said: "In order to prevent future problems with alcohol related violent crime, we would like you to consider a voluntary agreement between all venues."

However, licensees failed to reach an agreement. "A couple of licensees pooh-poohed the idea," said Neil Homer, who runs the independently-owned Orange Rooms bar and devised the plan.

"To be fair a lot of licensees don't sell below that level but others thought it was risky to put prices up when supermarkets are selling beer and spirits cheaper than we can actually buy it for ourselves.

"There was concern that there would be prices dictated in pubs but not in supermarkets."

Homer said that he believed a voluntary agreement on minimum price would not be illegal if the council and police were not involved. "We have now put up our prices anyway," he added.

Licensees did agree to form a licensed trade body to see how they could work together to reduce alcohol-related crime.

Council not keen on ADZ​

Cabinet minister and Southampton MP John Denham has suggested the city should consider imposing an Alcohol Disorder Zone (ADZ) - but the authority is not keen.

The Communities Secretary flagged up ADZs as one option when he announced £54,000 for the council on front-line policing to tackle disorder.

ADZs would see pubs forced to pay a levy to combat alcohol-related problems. Cllr Royston Smith labelled the measure "a short term fix to a long term problem".

"We simply could not have an ADZ in the city. The Home Office says that an ADZ is only ever a last resort once all other methods have failed to solve the problem - and we certainly have not exhausted all other methods."

Also, ADZs "take months to set up, are hugely expensive to the tax payer, are damaging to businesses and the night time economy and are very difficult to enforce."