Watching Wales

Three months into the Welsh ban,

Kelly Smith finds it's tough for most - but there are some success stories

Warm weather and a sprinkling of success stories made for a sunny outlook during the first month of the Welsh smoking ban, which came into force on 2 April.

The smoke-free status quo is being well-received, says the Welsh Assembly - and a third more people are attempting to kick the habit.

"A number of licensees agree that, far from having a negative impact on sales, the ban has encouraged higher levels of trade," says a spokesperson. Compliance levels are high and the trade has kept a clean sheet on fines. Apart from dishing out several warnings for absence of signage, the 22 local authorities in Wales are sticking to the "softly, softly" approach promised by health minister Brian Gibbons.

In the majority of cases, the ban is being

policed by trained environmental health, trading standards and licensing officers, who have carried out checks in most Welsh

licensed premises.

Some areas, such as Swansea and Wrexham, have taken on additional staff, while Cardiff has recruited four employees from its health improvement team to head up a pool of 40

officers responsible for various roles.

Regional brewer Evan-Evans, which supplies 150 pubs, reports an increase in cask-ale orders since the ban started. And in a South Wales Echo poll, 28% of

licensees reported that beer sales had risen. But while they admitted the surge was due to the hottest April on record, the temperature was obviously not a key factor for the 14% whose takings plummeted.

More encouraging data, released last month by Matthew Clark, shows drinks sales for the first two months of the ban were up - soft drinks by 19% and wine by 3%.

So how did the principality's 3,800 pubs fare when sunshine turned to showers? At brewer and pub operator SA Brain, business is not exactly buoyant, but that doesn't spell doom and gloom, says retail director Philip Lay.

"The picture is confused and it's a little too early to begin interpreting," says Lay. "We're still in growth overall but our like-for-like sales are about 1% worse than a year ago. We've had a fair swing in trade, from very good in April to May being pretty bad. That's mostly because of the weather. Sites with equipped outdoor areas are probably doing slightly better than those that were unprepared."

Brains' investment is ongoing - about 12 sites are still awaiting planning permission, thanks to Government tardiness in issuing shelter guidelines. Solutions are site-specific, from £2,000 for a "wash-down" and a few umbrellas, to £200,000 for complete refurbishments.

Lay adds: "It's tougher in our tenanted and community-based businesses, where food has not been established for a long period."

Food, meanwhile, is doubling liquor's sales performance in Brains' managed estate.

"Unless an offer is adapted and an effort is made to communicate, this process will be painful," warns Lay. "People are looking for a reason to visit pubs, rather than habitually going along. Everything they read says that habit is bad, so they are looking for an occasion - a sporting event or celebration, for example - that encourages them to go to pubs."

Lessons from Scotland

Punch customer services director Francis Patton feels it is "far too early" to comment about whether the ban has affected sales in the pubco's 390 Welsh sites, but believes that its £18m preparations, which include al-fresco facilities such as parasols, canopies and cigarette bins, will stand them in good stead.

"What we have learned from Scotland, where we have 400 sites, suggests that pubs that adapted their offer and improved retail standards performed well," Patton says.

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has spent "tens of millions" upgrading its food and drink offering, as well as building external areas in about 80% of its 2,000 outlets - a strategy it believes helped drive 2.5% sales growth in its 80 Welsh pubs during the ban's first seven weeks.

The signs so far are encouraging, says director of communications Kathryn Holland. "Our like-for-like food sales are doing very well, as ever. Drinks sales are down a little - but the combination is what people really want.

"About 75% of our estate is based in residential areas. We have good local pubs in Wales and need to retain that 'local-ness'."

But some local pubs, especially in the

valleys, are being hit hard, warns Welsh

Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA) secretary John Price, who runs the Bush in Tonypandy, mid-Glamorgan. "Six hosts in this area have left their pubs, and older licensees are getting out. Even with meals, they're not making money," he says. "Trade has dropped by about 12%. Many pubs are closing at 10pm as they have no customers."

Limited facilities are the issue, particularly where pubs are landlocked. Price says: "Many pubs have nowhere for people to go when it rains, and the councils are dragging their feet. Five or six pubs have had applications for awnings turned down in the Rhondda alone. They have no back entrance, so an awning at the front is their only option. We're asking the Welsh Assembly to ease the burden and let us put up something at our pubs."

Bureaucratic battlefield

With guidelines coming out just eight weeks before the ban, some licensees are still waiting for planning approval, while others have adopted a "wait-and-see" approach.

While no shelter applications have been turned down in Denbighshire, only half of the 22 on record in Anglesey - Wales' biggest concentration of smokers - have been granted.

A Wrexham County Borough Council spokeswoman says: "Many pubs have erected temporary structures. I'm sure people will look at doing something more permanent over the next 12 months."

Powys County Council is surprised at the low number of applications coming in. But that doesn't mean shelters are not going up.

"We'll undertake a lot of enforcement action and there will be a number of retrospective applications," says spokesman Lee Evans.

Many of those with structures in place have faced a bureaucratic battle. For the sake of formality, licensees have incurred extra costs by re-submitting plans that fell short of guidelines, making adjustments on shelters installed early and applying for licence variations to overcome conditions banning customers smoking outside after a certain time.

Brains has spent £30,000 on variations. "The legislative and licensing processes are the

burden," says Lay. "The challenge has been finding our way through it and achieving the right solution for each pub in time."

Gwynedd authorities say pubs are generally conforming to the rules, apart from a few cases where "misinterpretation of requirements" has occurred. "Anyone considering constructing a shelter is strongly advised to contact the council for guidance," says a spokesperson.

Despite a technical document being produced to ensure applications are treated consistently, having a guide is not seen as compulsory. Swansea Council spokesperson Jason Rogers says: "Although planning regulations seem to be the same, I think a different approach is adopted by individual councils."

The regulations are not the biggest obstacle - one of the most common reasons cited for plans being stubbed out is noise or nuisance.

In April and May, Rhondda Cynon Taff Borough Council investigated 21 noise complaints about smokers congregating outside

Perhaps there is an opportunity for licensees to argue that - as enforcement officers are discovering - with or without a canopy to stand under, some pub-goers will persist in smoking on the streets. This looks set to be the next battle-ground, which could have serious consequences at a time when pubs are trying to make the most of the summer weather before the wintry showers return.

Noisy neighbours

In a case covered by the Bangor and Anglesey Mail, planning officers gave the green light to a pub's plan for a pair of retractable c