Licence requests start to trickle in
08-Jun-2005
Pubs are beginning to have their applications for extended opening accepted under the new Licensing Act.Despite the huge backlog of applications, a...
Trade victory over council
02-Jun-2005
The licensed trade's fight against over-zealous councils slapping unfair demands on pubs under the new Licensing Act has scored its first...
Local authorities in crisis meeting over licensing
19-May-2005
Local authorities are coming together at a crisis meeting today to discuss ways of averting the looming disaster surrounding licence...
Licensees warned of interpretations of new use classes
09-May-2005
Licensees will need to be more sensitive to local issues now the new use classes order has come into force, says Peter Heather, partner in leading...
Pubs warned: face up or shut down
05-May-2005
Pubs could be forced to close unless they apply for premises licences before the August deadline.Midway through the six-month period in which...
Licensing chaos is being swept under the carpet
05-May-2005
I have doubts that all the venom currently being targeted at local councils in respect of the Licensing Act is properly aimed. There is, in my...
Now is time to nip the
05-May-2005
nit-pickers in the bud The thing about regime change is that you start to get nostalgic about the former system, with all its faults. No, I am not...
Kent licensee makes last stand to save local
21-Apr-2005
An irate Kent licensee has vowed to fight on to save his popular Victorian watering hole despite losing an appeal to developers who want to turn the...
Trade takes fight against councils to court
14-Apr-2005
The trade is taking the fight against over-zealous councils slapping unnecessary demands on licensees to one of the highest courts in the country.A...
Yates ups ante in funding police to tackle alcohol-related d
14-Apr-2005
by John Harrington High-street bar operator Yates is to increase its annual "community fund", to help local authorities tackle problems caused by...
Clarity' sought by LGA on price-fixing powers
14-Apr-2005
by John Harrington The Local Government Asso-ciation (LGA) has called for clarification on the powers that councils have to impose minimum pricing,...
Caborn steps in to defuse the row over licensees' historic r
31-Mar-2005
Grandfather rights saved... by Ewan Turney Licensing minister Richard Caborn has called a halt to the legal row over grandfather rights that was...
Licensees with letting rooms outraged at licence plans
24-Mar-2005
Licensees who run hotels are up in arms because they are being told to provide new plans for their entire property - including bedrooms and car parks...
Crisis as licensing reform slips into meltdown chaos
24-Mar-2005
Full scale of the bureaucracy and red tape is at last revealed by Tony Halstead Transition to the new licensing system is at crisis point this week...
Alcohol disorder zones a quick fix' say councils
10-Mar-2005
by Tony Halstead Local councils say the creationof alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) in town and city centres represent a "quick fix" and will not...
Pubs demand more support on licensing
10-Feb-2005
Four days into the new licensing regime licensees across the country claim that local authorities are still not geared up for change.The Publican has...
BBPA: stick to code or face closure
10-Feb-2005
by Ewan Turney Local authorities and police will be empowered to take sanctions, ranging from fines to loss of licence, against rogue licensees who...
Caig to open £3m club in Glasgow
10-Feb-2005
A Gateshead business is expanding north of the border with the opening of £3m nightclub in Glasgow. Entrepreneur Richie Caig has been given consent...
Shortage of licensed doorstaff threatens South East pubs
08-Feb-2005
Pubs in London and the South East could be forced to close in the next few weeks if there aren't enough licensed door staff.The Security Industry...
Trade dealt £43m blow in licence fee U-turn
27-Jan-2005
by Ewan Turney The Government has caved in to local authority pressure and increased licensing fees by 54%, raising an additional £43m from...
Reform postponement now almost inevitable
13-Jan-2005
Local government and trade unite in face of DCMS inaction by Tony Halstead Pressure is growing on the Government to abandon the 7 February start...
Councils' hours plans defy reform principles
02-Dec-2004
It is, of course, true to suggest that the new local authority licensing committees are "taking over from the justices". I have probably written that...
Saturation: councils face rude awakening'
02-Dec-2004
Trade issues warning as 40% of councils plan saturation policy by John Harringtonand Tony Halstead Local authorities could face a string of...
Council slammed for new licensing bureaucracy
24-Nov-2004
A council in the West Country has been criticised for trying to force more bureaucracy onto licensees to meet the requirements of the new Licensing...
Cussedness' prompts licensing forms mess
18-Nov-2004
Last week the short consultation period on the raft of forms, regulations and statutory instruments that provide the basis for the new licensing...
Trade takes a bow at responsibility awards
18-Nov-2004
by MA Reporter Mitchells & Butlers, the pub company that runs All Bar One, It's A Scream, and Harvester, among other national chains, has been...
Trade fears haphazard control
11-Nov-2004
Tony Payne, chief executive Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations "The Government keeps saying it wants to see more family-friendly...
Money talks
10-Nov-2004
The licensing fees have yet to be confirmed - the nervous wait begins now, writes Daniel Pearce.It was nice of licensing minister Richard Caborn to...
Reform spells budget woe for 40% of councils
04-Nov-2004
Four in 10 local authorities in England and Wales have contacted the Local Government Association (LGA) saying that reform of licensing laws will leave big holes in their budget, the Morning Advertiser has learned
Grogan: bid for police tax must be axed
28-Oct-2004
The Home Office should scrap suggestions that licensees pay for increased policing, says MP and trade supporter John Grogan The MP, who is chairman...
Councils fear fees in limbo
28-Oct-2004
Fears are growing that further delays in the publication of fees could seriously jeopardise the timetable for introduction of the new Licensing Act....
LAs' failure to consult on licensing reform alarms trade
21-Oct-2004
The trade has been rocked by research that shows 10 per cent of local authorities are failing to consult with licensees on their plans for licensing...
Council survey points to lack of consultation
21-Oct-2004
by John Harrington One in 10 local authorities have conducted no consultation whatsoever on their licensing policy, according to a new report from...
Making music
14-Oct-2004
Undertones ex-frontman and head of the Live Music Forum, Feargal Sharkey wants more live pub music, finds Michelle Perrett.Licensees have been handed...
Resist those daft policies
07-Oct-2004
No A-boards outside your pub. Funding for public toilets. Sound tests for every pub. One door supervisor per 100 customers. Do not laugh: these are...
Mixed signals
07-Oct-2004
Some conflicting messages on minimum pricing are emerging from the OFT and the Home Office. Tom Sandham reports.At its height, the cheap drink...
BIDs scheme raises concerns over service charges
07-Oct-2004
Business improvement districts (BIDs) could pose just another financial burden on businesses, Alex Salussolia, chairman of the Association of...
OFT giving mixed messages over minimum pricing
07-Oct-2004
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is firing mixed messages at licensees and local authorities over minimum pricing schemes.But there are new hopes...
Many councils are going beyond their legal rights'
07-Oct-2004
I refer to Tony Halstead's story on page two of last week's issue of the Morning Advertiser ("Local authorities fail to follow official guidance") in...
Building bridges
05-Oct-2004
The Publican Conference will offer plenty for people to get their teeth into. Michelle Perrett gives details of the design and planning...
Legal advice: Consultation on draft licensing policies
21-Sep-2004
Local authorities have already issued draft licensing policies for next year - get in there and have your say.By David Clifton of thePublican.com's...
LACORS on wrong foot
16-Sep-2004
If ever you wanted proof that the new Licensing Act is viewed not as a liberalisation but as a controlling measure, then look no further than the...
BID for cash
01-Sep-2004
Michelle Perrett explains how the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) scheme will work.Unfounded fears of all pubs opening 24 hours under the new...
Changes for business rates on hold
22-Jul-2004
Government plans to change the way business rates are controlled have been shelved.Licensees were being prepared for an announcement this week that...
Operators fight licence conditions in court
17-Jun-2004
Pub operators in Newcastle under Lyme are taking the local authority to court over its policy of forcing pubs to search customers for drugs. Yates...
Fixed pricing set for OFT approval'
25-Mar-2004
by The PMA Team The Office of Fair Trading is set to approve minimum pricing schemes in Middlesbrough and Bournemouth, according to Bar Entertainment...
Beware the hazards of street-drinking ban
25-Mar-2004
The subject of outside tables and chairs has once again featured in my postbag, with the prospect of another good summer. It is clear that with some...
Guidance notes still stuck in the mud
18-Mar-2004
How smug I was when I saw all those conferences going ahead last autumn, claiming to tell you everything you needed to know about the new licensing...
Licensing minister hits out at his critics
26-Feb-2004
Richard Caborn, the minister responsible for licensing, has refuted claims that he has failed to speak to the trade about licensing. In an exclusive...
Last reform benefit may be under threat
19-Feb-2004
Just two weeks' ago I wrote about the fact that local authority policy documents were seeking to re-establish permitted hours in their locality in...
