Westminster City Council has antagonised licensees once again with the launch of a public inquiry into the liberalisation of licensing.
Trade members are furious as it appears that very few of them have been consulted. They claim there is no information on what they need to comment on and they have only been given a few days' notice.
The council says that the inquiry will help it prepare for taking on control of licensing and will give the trade a chance to talk to the council about any issues.
But its approach has raised concerns among the industry, especially as the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) have not been asked to contribute.
Westminster Licensees' Association (WLA) was invited to submit evidence but has so far not received a formal letter from the council. This means it is already too late for it to make any submissions on the pub industry's behalf.
Kate Nicholls, spokeswoman for the WLA, said: "This is exactly the same approach that Westminster council took to the consultation on its licensing policy, inviting comments from select groups and giving them a ludicrously short time frame to respond."
Chief executive of the BBPA Rob Hayward said: "We want to work with the council but it is sending out a message it has already made up it mind before it has even started."
A council spokeswoman said: "We are assessing the impact of the draft legislation to help inform the debate and clarify the position of those most likely to be affected by the changes."
The council will meet on March 4 to hear evidence and its final report will be published in early April.