Post-loading poses problems

14-Dec-2011 - Last updated on 11-Mar-2017 at 20:39 GMT

Cheap Trick?: Peter Coulson sees no problem with bring-your-own-drink events

Innovative ideas in the licensed trade are like Marmite — you either love ’em or hate ’em. So it is with Bob Senior’s idea in Durham that if you can’t beat them, you try and turn a trick.

Something has been made of the legality of allowing nightclub customers to bring their own drinks with a cover charge being levied at the door. But I assume the idea is to increase footfall in a sector which is suffering more than most from a decrease in patronage.

Certainly, as far as I am concerned, there does not appear to be anything illegal in the idea itself.

Consumption of alcohol is not a licensable activity. Selling it is. So the premises licence for the club covers the sale of alcohol and provision of regulated entertainment.

The clubbers are not consuming alcohol in a restricted area and the origin of that alcohol is not relevant, unless it is in itself in doubt.

But buying a bottle of vodka in a supermarket or off-licence and taking it to a club involves no offence at all if you are over 18, unless there is some form of condition on the licence preventing the admission of persons with alcohol, which is unlikely.

The concern seems to be in the potential for unmonitored and excessive drinking. This may well be genuine, but how different is it from the youngsters turning up already loaded? No-one knows how much they have drunk before entering the premises.

Under this scheme, it is the job of the licensee and his staff to monitor the situation and prevent excess, which is both a legal requirement and an essential aspect of good management.

They will not be entirely freed from bar duties, presumably, but there may be more time available to check on just what the punters are doing.

Presumably, the hope is that the customers will tot up the expenditure and decide that it is cheaper to bring their own for a good night out than to pay the existing bar prices. The owner’s hope — as often happens — is that even with their carry-ins they still use the bar for other things, or when they run out.

One thing is for sure — the scrutiny of this club will be such that the slightest hint of over-indulgence could mean instant expulsion. The owner is going to have to use eagle eyes to ensure that he stays on the right side of the law.