Licensed trade consultant Martin Rawlings and lawyer Tim Shield warned that if licensees do not act fast, it may be too late.
They were speaking at the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) Key Issues Forum in Manchester on Thursday about late-night levies and early-morning restriction orders (EMROs).
“I think the trade has neglected this as an issue in some respect,” said Rawlings. “When it comes to it, you have to get your hands dirty, you’ve got to go and talk to the council.
“If you don’t reply to the consultation, there is no next stage. You’ve had it. You’re dead.”
Shield added: “There are a lot of [local] authorities looking at pre-consultations. I think if you get in there, then you might just kill it before it gets to the consultation.”
He explained that many licensees may not realise such policies will impact their business. “A lot may sit there and think, ‘well, if it’s at 2am then we’re not going to open beyond 1am anyway, so we won’t respond.’ There is some validity in there but once an EMRO is in place, as with a cumulative impact policy, they [the council] might just extend it. Once the principle is there, it is going to be so much easier for them to say, ‘well it’s really worked quite well for us, why don’t we put it to 1am? Why don’t we put it to midnight?’
“And then that will start to impact on the vast majority of premises, certainly at weekends.”
Shield also pointed out that if a policy is introduced outside the area of your pub, it may encourage peope to not visit your venue before they go onto a venue that is open later.