West Country

Bournemouth Town Watch

Bournemouth Town Watch chair Steve

Hudson believes its biggest success has been

appointing the UK's first night-time economy co-ordinator. The co-ordinator's role is to ensure that every bar, pub and club operates responsibly and to act as a central point of contact between licensees, the police and the council.

Steve, who is manager of Elements, a Luminar outlet, says watch members have 60% of the voting rights on the committee that will oversee the coordinator's work, ensuring that the trade's views are strongly represented when decisions have to be made.

Plenty of initiatives

The move is the latest in an impressive list of initiatives by the watch to create a safer and more pleasant environment in the town.

Watch secretary PC Ian Curtis (pictured) is equally enthusiastic about the way the watch has developed since re-establishing itself three years ago.

Although legislation prohibits any minimum price drinks policy, watch members are bound by a code of practice on responsible retailing and can question any operator embarking on a drinks promotion.

The ultimate deterrent is that the watch can report irresponsible operators to the council's licensing department.

Ian says that peer pressure from other licensees led to six out of the last seven

promotions being dropped.

"The other one was accepted as it was part of a wider, national promotion," he says.

The watch was also the first to trial mobile phone picture messaging to alert hosts, door supervisors and police of troublemakers.

Other steps taken include the use of shatterproof glassware, which has reduced injuries by 100% over the past year, and equipping door supervisors with high-visibility jackets, which has resulted in reported thefts decreasing by 50%.

Self-financing and self-policing

Funding for these and other initiatives has been raised by a levy based on an outlet's public entertainment licence capacity. Even the conference centre is part of the watch and contributes £3,000 per annum of the £30,000 raised from its 60-plus members.

Ian says: "From small beginnings, Town Watch has developed into a self-financing and self-policing group, which has benefited Bournemouth's night-time economy."