More cafés – fewer pubs

There are too many drinking venues in our town and city centres, says a parliamentary select committee.

The United Kingdom needs an inclusive continental-style café culture during the evening and fewer pubs. This is the conclusion of the Housing, Planning, Local, Government and the regions Committee of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Although the reference to the way things happen in southern Europe may indicate a similar approach to that taken by the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport during the debate on the Licensing Act, the reality is that this cross-party group of MPs has reached quite different conclusions.

Both minister and officials of the DCMS have asserted that the provisions in the Act which abolish old-style pub closing times will lead to the end of binge drinking and inaugurate an era of continental drinking patterns. The DCMS refused to include residents' and amenity associations in the Advisory Group set up to assist with the shaping of the legislation, whereas the Select Committee actively sought their opinions and took them into account when forming their recommendations.

What emerges is that the urban renaissance, which the Government wishes to encourage, will be hampered rather than encouraged by the liberalisation. The "livability" of town and city centres, to use the Prime Minister's word, is likely to be diminished. As Christine Russell, MP, Chairman of the Committee, said, "A successful urban renaissance depends on striking a balance between a good night out for some and a good night's sleep for others."

The Committee's Report recommends "that the Government conducts upper capacity pilots in city centres that have experienced the effects of cumulative impact." This, of course, reflects one of the major concerns of amenity groups and local authorities. The Government is in the process of formulating the statutory Guidance to the Licensing Act which will prevent those local authorities establishing a policy which sets limits of licensed premises in a particular area and so is clearly at odds with the Committee.

The Government argues that a direct causal connection between capacity and crime and disorder must be demonstrated. The Committee is impatient with this argument, saying, with a refreshing acceptance of the obvious, that "it does not need to be demonstrated that the presence of large volumes of people in a small area will impact upon residential amenity if not controlled".

It is interesting to note the Government's response when the proof of the "direct causal connection" was asked for during the debate on the Licensing Bill in the House of Lords. Lord Avebury asked whether the Government "will collect and publish statistics of the number of licensed premises and their aggregate capacity, the number of offences of violence against the person and the number of calls to the ambulance service, for every area in which corresponding figures are available in England and Wales, so that licensing authorities can pay regard to this evidence in carrying out their duty to promote the prevention of crime and disorder." For the Government, Lord Mackintosh of Haringey said, "No."

On the density of licensed premises, the Committee recommends that "local authorities conduct studies to ascertain the number of different premises an area can sustain, whilst retaining its character and remaining true to the concept of a mixed-use area. Planning policy can then be used to prevent excess." Although it sees planning playing this role, the Committee is sceptical of the Government's stated reliance on this tool: "We recommend the Government reconsider its desire to deal with issues of cumulative effect exclusively through the planning system.

We continue to be convinced that cumulative effect is best dealt with through the more flexible licensing system."

The Committee says that some changes to the planning system would make a big difference to local authorities' ability to balance evening and late-night uses of town and city centres. The Use Classes Orders currently allow dramatic changes of use within the same class. For example, it is possible for a cinema to become a night-club without changing Use Class, but the impact on an area is very different. Another problem is premises not operating in the evening as they do in the day. Café bars, for example, may clear away chairs and tables at night and become a jostling, crowded bar where people drink standing-up at a much faster pace.

Interior planning constraints would help solve this problem. Whilst referring again to the difficulty of maintaining a balance between a good night out and a good night's sleep, the report argues that a review of the Building Regulations and Noise Acts would show commitment to tackling this problem.

There has been widespread alarm that under the new Act, residents will be put at a considerable disadvantage when objecting and the Committee shares this. "We reiterate that the Licensing Act 2003 places too much emphasis on residents to provide "evidentiary" proof in order to lodge an objection to a licence. Providing such evidence is difficult and costly. Few residents, either individually or collectively, will be able to provide the required evidence. We repeat our recommendation that licensing authorities should be given powers to accept residents' sworn evidence of nuisance." Alert has been pointing out throughout the passage of the Bill through Parliament that to place a burden of before-the-fact proof on local residents, in the case of new licences, is quite unreasonable, especially when they will be faced with the legal might available to the drink industry.

The Committee is aware that, in the words of one of the authorities it quotes, "the mortality rate from alcoholic consumption is rocketing at the moment". Whilst acknowledging that the Government's submission accepts the fact that a further expansion of the evening economy will "have cost implications for the Health Service", the Committee "are [sic] concerned that this implication has not been fully explored in relation to the new Licensing Act". Most of those involved in this question professionally would describe this as a remark of courteous understatement. In the contest of health, the report looks forward "to the publication of the national Alcohol Harm Strategy".

The "polluter pays" principle is touched on in the report when the difficulties facing the police in the light of possible results of the Licensing Act are discussed. "We are concerned that the extension of licensing hours under the Licensing Act 2003 could stretch police resources to an extent where anti-social behaviour tools will be ineffective. Further time-expansion of the evening economy will need to be monitored carefully." The Committee suggests that, if it becomes apparent that it is beyond the police to meet the problems arising from the expanded evening economy, the Government talks with the drink industry in order to find sources of additional funding which "may include the possibility of a 1 per cent levy on the annual turnover of private operators".

The Committee points out that the successful management of the evening and late-night economies will require action plans and strategies which take into account both planning and licensing regimes. It recommends that the ODPM require every local authority to produce a strategy and to develop this "in conjunction with all relevant parties and should include baseline data regarding: number and concentration of licensed premises and late-night take-aways; environmental problems, including flyposting, rubbish and street urination; crime and disorder, including graffiti and vandalism; availability of public and private transport, including late night car parking facilities; closing times of public conveniences; policing resources; cleansing times and records of complaints, especially relating to noise".

The report makes it clear that the Licensed Trade has a responsibility to deal with problems relating to the consumption of alcohol and the late night economy. "Private operators should take as many steps as possible to educate their customers about the potential impact of their behaviour." This responsibility, the Committee says, is held along with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, under whose aegis the Licensing Act reached the statute books. According to the Committee, the DCMS should work with the industry to ensure that there is a proper dissemination of good practice. The Committee rejects the industry's long-held position that its co-operation in these matters is best left at a voluntary, self-regulatory level. "The Departmentmust bring in legislation making participation of operators in partnerships aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour a licensing condition".

The Committee Report is clearly at odds with the approach taken by the Government in its Licensing Bill. It takes into consideration many of the factors dismissed or ignored by the DCMS during the consultation process. It is ironic that so many of its recommendations will be specifically forbidden in the Guidance to the Act currently being formulated within the DCMS.