Pub operators are facing a clampdown on opening new venues in Brighton after the council confirmed it is looking to introduce a cumulative impact policy.
Brighton & Hove City Council is expected to kick off a consultation on the policy with police and local residents this month. It is likely to be in force by the end of the year.
A draft consultation document identifies an area of the town centre where the policy will operate in effect giving the council extra powers to refuse licence applications.
A local authority can apply for a cumulative impact policy as part of its licensing policy if it believes that ³a concentration of licensed premises in a particular area² is affecting one or more of the licensing objectives.
Policies already exist in London, Nottingham and Watford.
Hamish Elder, joint managing director of Harvey & Son, which has community-based pubs in Brighton, urged the council to assess any new applications on an individual basis. ³The council must consider the size and style of venues that will open,² he said.
"It¹s a very dangerous policy without defining the criteria on how premises will be judged."
A spokeswoman for the council said: "Once the cumulative impact policy is drawn up, it will be taken to full council to get councillors' approval. We hope this will happen by the end of this year."
Inspector Bill Whitehead of Brighton & Hove¹s licensing department said Brighton now had a lot of licensed premises in the city centre. "Since the Licensing Act we have seen a lot of additional premises applying for alcohol licences," he said. "A large number of cafés have become café bars. With fiercer competition people cut the quality of their service, which can lead to more crime and disorder problems."