Blackpool pubs should 'reconsider their business model', says leading licensing lawyer

Related tags Early morning restriction Crime

Philip Kolvin QC: 'If a bell is tolling, it is to tell premises to reconsider their business model'

A leading licensing barrister has suggested that Blackpool’s pubs and clubs should “reconsider their business model”, after claiming the introduction of an early morning restriction order (EMRO) would be “no death knell” for the town’s trade.

Philip Kolvin QC, representing the police during Blackpool’s hearing into an EMRO this week, said of the 1,377 licensed premises in Blackpool, the EMRO would only limit the activities of about 22 of them, and of those, none would have their licence pegged back for more than two hours, according to the Blackpool Gazette.

Blackpool Police want the council to introduce an early morning restriction order (EMRO) which would prevent alcohol being served between 3am and 6am in part of the town centre.

Speaking on the first day of the hearing yesterday (3 February), Kolvin told councillors: “The EMRO will lead to some loss of business, but this is no death knell.

“If a bell is tolling, it is to tell premises to reconsider their business model.”

'Round the clock' drinking

He added: “The council has a chance to restore Blackpool’s reputation as a safe place for families to visit and to preserve and build that element of the tourist economy.

“If in doing so, it deters that sector of the economy that wishes to drink round the clock and behave accordingly – the outcome can only be of benefit for the town, its residents and its economy.”

He said witness statements amounting to first hand accounts of the “fallout from this alcohol economy” represent a “cold, sobering and deeply concerning testament” from Blackpool people who are urging for regulation.

'Insidious'

“We can see these insidious effects as they seep into impact on the daily lives of Blackpool people as they go about their daily business,” he said.

The resort’s police chiefs presented the council’s licensing committee with 102 statements of what they describe as “compelling evidence” that the town must call time on late-night drinking.

At the moment almost everyone arrested (98%) between those hours in that part of town is drunk, according to police figures.

Violent crime

The committee was given statistics compiled by the police, which show between 3am and 6am, the EMRO area accounts for 13 per cent of all violent crime in Lancashire, and 43 per cent of all violent crime in the Western Division policing area which includes Blackpool.

While violent crime as a whole is decreasing in Blackpool, in the EMRO area it has increased by 267 per cent between 2005, when drinking hours were relaxed, and 2012.

However, local pubs and clubs are vehemently opposed to the measure – which they say would damage tourism, cost jobs and harm their businesses – and it is thought other local authorities could follow Blackpool’s lead if it approves an EMRO.

The five-day hearing continues until Friday 7 February.