24hr pubs? only three so far

by John Harrington Only three pubs are known to have applied for 24-hour licences so far, and just one of these has so far been accepted. At present...

by John Harrington

Only three pubs are known to have applied for 24-hour licences so far, and just one of these has so far been accepted. At present this is the true picture of "24-hour drinking", just eight weeks away from the end of the transition period on 6 August.

Fuller's tenanted pub the Swan Tavern in the City of London was granted a 24-hour licence last week, although Fuller's spokeswoman Georgina Wald said the pub would not open around the clock.

"The pub caters for people in the city and they wanted to be able to open early for sport, if there's a sporting occasion, or if they have customers who have closed a big deal late at night."

The pub is not in a residential area, so it was decided that later opening would not cause a disturbance. Wald added: "They are using the licensing laws for what they are there for to provide flexibility for customers."

Meanwhile, Gerry Bean, freehold host of the Burlton Inn, a country pub near Shrewsbury in Shropshire, has applied for a 24-hour licence to allow guests of people staying at the venue to order drinks in the early hours.

"We've got six letting bedrooms at the pub and residents can drink at any time. The anomaly is that if they have a guest with them, the guest can't buy a drink."

He added: "We are a dining pub, not really a drinking pub. I think that closing at 12pm or 12.30am would be best under normal circumstances."

The one pub that is known to want round-the-clock drinking is the aptly titled 24/7 in Blackpool, which submitted its 24-hour application last week. "I know the police are objecting, but I expected that," said owner Michael Clarke. "But we don't have any trouble here."

He added that he was confident he would be able to find enough staff to run the pub around the clock.

But British Beer & Pub Association communications manager Christine Milburn said: "The idea that we are going to have bar staff and cellar men working through the night seems far-fetched. I would be very interested to see what hours they will open in six months' time."