New night-time economy body

Licensees and pub operators are invited to join a new body that promotes joint action locally to encourage safer and more profitable town centres at night.

The Association of Sustainable Night-time Economy Development (ASNED) is headed by former Marston's bar manager turned nighttime economy specialist Michael Biggs and Alistair Birdsell, who runs the Kro bar in central Manchester.

Biggs said the aim was to involve the trade with those working in licensing, planning, town-centre management and economic development. The plan is to hold local "development days", where licensees would comment on ideas to improve safety at night and stimulate the late-night economy, especially in quieter mid-week periods.

Biggs said: "There are massive opportunities for growth in the UK's towns and cities. Many cities empty out after 6pm and are used by only a narrow demographic [grouping] at weekends. If we want to make our towns and cities more attractive in the evenings, cut crime and im-prove quality of life, then we need broader participation. ASNED has been set up to facilitate this."

ASNED is a not-for-profit organisation and annual membership costs £29.95.

Biggs, who started in the trade as head barman at Marston's Gypsy Lane Hotel in Leicester in the 1990s, added: "We are looking to find some sort of cohesion rather than highlight differences of opinion.

"What we are seeing from local authorities is that they don't always have a strong understanding of how the hospitality industry works. We see a lot of licence conditions that don't represent what premises do. We want to strengthen the partnership."

He said there are plans for an ASNED conference within the first 12 months.