Future Pub Conference: pub operators warned that future licensing policies could hamper expansion
CPL Training's head of compliance Paul Chase predicted that a range of policies could be introduced in England and Wales following the lead of Scotland in targeting alcohol misuse.
He told delegates: “I predict that protecting and promoting public health will become a full licensing objective in England and Wales, as it is in Scotland.
“This is a real threat to opportunities that operators have to expand, particularly in what may be large cumulative impact areas. Clearly, cumulative impact policies don’t just threaten town centres — they are a threat to all pubs.”
He also raised concerns that if the case for blocking minimum unit pricing for Scotland is lost, there could be more knock-on effects.
“What would stop a local licensing authority saying in our footprint in our city centre: ‘We are going to impose a minimum unit price as a standard condition in our area?’ They can’t introduce standard conditions now, but that is about to change in Scotland and it will change here too.
“So you end up with a patchwork of local minimum unit prices and individual licensing authorities and a national minimum unit price for the off-trade.”
He also predicted a ban on multi-buys in the off-trade as they do in Scotland, introduction of blanket mandatory licensing conditions and that licensing authorities could even intervene to cap the alcohol by volume (ABV) of products pubs are allowed to sell.
New closure powers — community protection orders and the impact of police crime commissioners in having a role in how these operate — could prompt a “Cranks’ Charter”.
