Round-the-clock opening not feasible on big scale
Fears have already been expressed that the new licensing system will lead to more civil disturbance and an increase in the "yob culture" and more alcohol-related health problems.
But that presupposes that all pubs and clubs will open for 24 hours, which I consider to be unlikely across the UK.
Some years ago, the then Culture Secretary, Chris Smith announced a cross-Government package aimed to give visitors to Britain a warmer welcome and boost the UK's tourism industry whilst also attracting investment to our regions. Part of the "Tomorrow's Tourism" package included the White Paper proposing modernisation of liquor and licensing laws. Modernisation which some then saw as heralding the arrival of the "24-hour city".
However, the concept of the 24-hour city, in my view, is unlikely to become a reality in many towns and cities. One only has to look at the effect of the removal of the afternoon break some years ago not every pub took advantage of that and many that did, reverted when revenue was compared to the cost of staying open longer. I also believe we still have yet to understand fully what the concept of the 24-hour city entails. Firstly, to become a 24-hour city, there needs to be a catchment to support it. If there is no customer demand, there will not be a rush for extended hours. Secondly, the true concept of a 24-hour city not only involves drinking but also dining, retail, residential, health and fitness/sport as well as security and transport implications and I do not believe we are anywhere near that in some areas. Nor do I believe a true 24-hour city is a realistic goal for many towns and cities given their size and climate.
The best, I suggest, that most areas can look forward to is an 18-hour "city" but there will have to be a significant change to our culture, lifestyle and method of doing business, together with an harmonious planning and licensing framework to persuade operators and developers that there is a demand to be fulfilled. Furthermore, some of the drinking areas of our towns and cities are perceived by certain age groups or single-sex groups as already being intimidating and the safety factor has to be addressed.
Similarly, staggered closing times may help to alleviate the present 11pm mass exodus problem but that, just as the general "safety" angle, has implications for policing.
One also cannot overlook the necessity for harmony with town dwellers and that will be difficult to achieve as many see the proliferation of pubs and clubs in their areas as environmentally damaging. Certainly there is a difference between cities and Newcastle, for instance, has a small catchment compared to that of Greater Manchester and Leeds and accordingly there is not the necessity to provide the wide range of 24-hour city-type outlets to cater for differing consumer tastes. Therefore, the 24-hour city will remain a goal for some but difficult to achieve on a significant scale for many.
Nigel Westwood Director Licensed & Leisure Division Sanderson Weatherall
Keeping village trade is all about balance' I read Roger Barley's letter (Morning Advertiser,18 March) with a mixture of sympathy and cynicism. My local pub is in the "village" category and for all of the five years I've lived here, I have been a regular user, almost entirely as a mere drinker. Reading your sister publication PubChef and seeing the celebration of converting 50p-worth of belly pork into a £14 menu price, it is inevitable that I rely mainly on my own culinary skills at home!
A possible interpretation of Mr Barley's migratory villagers may lie in the "Blue Mooner" Syndrome: Blue Mooners (BMs) are among those visiting "destination" houses but once in a blue moon, typically Mother's Day and around Christmas. On these occasions the regular locals find it difficult to get noticed, let alone actually served. Who can blame the poor licensee when there are such massive GPs to be made from the BMs?
The matter worsens when it becomes apparent that these people only purchase drinks of staggering complexity that is when they eventually decide what it is they think they want. Somebody should pre-brief them that a half of Stella shandy with a dash of cranberry juice served in a chilled balloon glass is likely to exceed their 60p target price ("I'll get the drinks, you got them four years ago"). The irony is they don't seem to mind paying £14 for a shard of pork fat. The condition worsens when this "real ale" pub then repeatedly has no real ale to sell, and substitute products for the repertoire drinker:- nitrokeg, standard lager etc, also run out. But there's plenty of wine at £15 a bottle if you're lucky.
Another traffic-building ploy is to fill the "games" room with football fans, the bait being a widescreen telly and the prospect of a violent England v Turkey match. The downside for Mr Regular Drinker is that there's no room for him, and his expensive pint of premium lager (there's not much else on offer) has to be quaffed from a squidgy plastic beaker. The footy mob might be dangerous with real glasses, you see. Still, it might make some sense if the empty glasses were actually cleared away
Think again, Mr Barley, is there perhaps an explanation, other than plain envy, to prompt erstwhile regulars to vote with their feet?
Surely it is all about balance. I'm sure the jaundiced views expressed here do not apply to you or your pub but it may seem to some that they do. This picture is a composite one and does not portray any particular house. No names to ensure the anonymity of the guilty. It must be a mighty balancing act to meet the needs of such disparate groups: Destinationers, Regulars, Quasi-football hooligans, Blue Mooners etc. Perhaps it is expecting too much of the village pub for it to be all things to all men? I continue to enjoy using a village pub, but this one is a two-mile stroll up the road. At least I've earned my beer and they've actually got some!
Hillair Belloc wrote: "From the towns all inns have been driven: from the villages most Change your hearts or you will lose your inns and you will deserve to have lost them. But when you have lost your inns drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England."
Perhaps it has become more difficult in the years since Belloc passed away in 1953.
John R PalmerChurch View Haughley StowmarketSuffolk IP14 3NU
