Independent hosts set

to fall prey to deadline

by Tony Halstead

Thousands of independent pubs, clubs and bars are set to miss the boat as the deadline for new licence applications is just nine days away.

Scores of local councils this week reported applications were still running well below the 50% mark with one London borough as low as 12%.

Despite a late flurry of applications in recent weeks some industry leaders admit the long-predicted crisis is becoming a reality.

But evidence is also emerging that the vast majority of brewery-owned and core mainstream pub operators will hit the 6 August deadline.

Freehouse licensees and small bar and club operators could be the ones who will miss out.

All premises that fail to submit variation and conversion applications on time will lose out on all previous trading rights and be forced to apply for new licences before the new laws come into force on 24 November.

Across 33 London boroughs only about one-third of an estimated 30,000 premises have so far submitted applications. This ranges from 12% in Barking & Dagenham to 51% in Bexley. In Newcastle just 332 pubs and clubs out of more than 1,000 premises have applied.

Local Government Associa-tion spokesperson Trish O'Flynn described the situation as 'very worrying and said it was now inevitable thousands of licensees would miss out.

'We are already looking to the next stage of the process and warning licensees if they still have not put a new application in by the end of September they will probably not have a licence by 25 November when the new Act comes into force.

'The stark prospect for them at that point is their business will have to close, she warned.

But the British Beer & Pub Association believes 75% of its members have already sent in applications.

'The figures you see for licence applications made to councils cover all types of premises and it appears to be non-pub businesses which are the major problem, said communications director Mark Hastings.

'There are many types of premises from small restaurants to food take-aways which fall into this category, he added.

Response to a survey by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers covering 11,227 premises run by its members revealed every company expected to hit the deadline.

A total of 74% of managed house operators said their applications had been submitted with 60% of tenanted operators following suit.