DERBY - CITY OF PUBS

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Police have announced a plan to pedestrianise parts of the city centre between 10pm and 4am. The aim is to help reduce the number of violent incidents involving late-night revellers. Senior officers believe banning vehicles from Victoria Street, Cheapside, Wardwick and The Strand would create more space for drinkers, leading to a more relaxed atmosphere and reducing the risks of alcohol-fuelled fights taking place. Officers believe preventing vehicles from entering parts of the city between 10pm and 4am would make it safer for visitors.

Superintendent Gary Parkin, commanding officer for Derby, said the more space that people have, confrontations are less likely. He added, "Crowd dynamics suggest that people behave differently in large groups. That, coupled with the alcohol factor means you have an increased risk of violence." Preliminary talks between the city council and police have taken place to look at pedestrianising Victoria Street, Cheapside, Wardwick and The Strand to make more space for revellers. As well as reducing violence, police say the move would reduce the risk of pedestrians being run over by vehicles.

Under the scheme, all vehicles, including buses and taxis, would be banned from areas of the city centre. At the moment, there are taxi ranks in Victoria Street and The Strand. Officers say they would look at either keeping those ranks in place or creating four new ranks at the corners of the city centre. Taxi marshals would be used to direct people to those ranks. Although the plans have received some support, they have received a mixed reaction from businesses and cabbies.

Between December and February, there were 256 violent incidents in Derby city centre, compared with 244 for the same period in 2008-09. Superintendent Gary Parkin, a commanding officer for Derby, said, "People behave differently when they are in crowds. Couple that with the alcohol factor, and a lot of people in the city centre at those times will have been drinking, then you have an increased risk of violence.

He said, "There have been examples of people being involved in violence in the city centre when in their normal, everyday lives, they would never dream of it. Other force areas, such as West Yorkshire, have done it [a vehicle ban] in some of their city centres and it has helped to protect the nighttime economy." Supt Parkin said the force was in "very early" discussions with organisations such as the city council. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/10)

The Liversage Arms, in Nottingham Road, has become the Steel Cage, a private members' fetish club. Initially open only to gay men, it will offer bondage equipment for use by club members. The downstairs lounge will remain open to the public and nudity will be banned in that area. Members will pay an annual £18 fee, plus a £9 entry charge each time they visit. Less than nine years ago, the pub underwent a £100,000 facelift under the previous landlord.

Club director Robert Morris said he thought there was a market for this kind of venue in the city. He added, "I have done a lot of research and have friends who own similar venues in Birmingham, Manchester and London. There are so many pubs closing down, I would have liked to see it reopened as a traditional pub again." Although Derby City Council controls liquor licensing in the city, it does not have jurisdiction over the activities within private members' clubs.

The council's environmental health manager, John Tomlinson, who oversees licensing, said, "The Licensing Act 2003 does cover entertainment and within that it covers adult entertainment, but this is rather different. It would appear that rather than there being an 'entertainer', customers would choose to attend, dressed in a certain way, and partake in activities without the need of an 'entertainer' as such. If customers chose to do that and the club rules allowed them to be involved in these activities on the premises, then that's something for them." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jan/07)

Plans to turn a former Derby chapel into a bar and restaurant have been revised in order to preserve its 19th century character. A proposal to turn the Wesleyan Chapel, in Brook Street, into an entertainment venue was submitted to Derby City Council in September 2003 after the Grade II-listed building was bought at auction for £120,000 by Didar Dalkic, of Coxbench, in April. At the time, planners recommended that the £500,000 proposal should be amended to keep a sufficient amount of its interior. Concerns were raised that the pews and artefacts associated with the design of the building would be lost. Now, it has been revealed that up to 35 out of 49 pews are going to be retained. The pulpit will be kept, but moved to a higher level.

The plans include insulating existing rafters and replacing the staircase. Externally, gutters and pipes will be kept where possible. If they are beyond repair, then they will be replaced with aluminium ones. Graves will also be retained and included in a landscaped area. The organ may have to go because it is in poor condition and Mr Dalkic is considering donating it to another church. The changes will be discussed at the council's conservation area advisory committee before the proposal goes to the planning department at the end of this year. Mr Dalkic's company, Derby-based Damas Developments, hopes to have a 100-seater restaurant upstairs and a bar downstairs.

He said, "We want to retain as much of the building as we can, so people can appreciate what it used to look like. We're not going in and clearing everything out, because the building has been bought for its character. Some of the pews will have to go to make room for the restaurant. If we left it like it is, there would be nowhere to sit and it wouldn't follow safety regulations." The 1802 chapel was built by three preachers and became a Wesleyan chapel in 1856. In August last year, an anonymous bidder from Nottingham bought the property for £81,000 at another auction.

Even though the bidder had paid the 10% deposit, he disappeared and the sale could not be completed. This meant that the chapel, which was run by trustees, was vacant for more than a year before Mr Dalkic bought it. Local historian Maxwell Craven, vice-chairman for the conservation area advisory committee, said it was important to keep the character of the building. "It really is in a shocking state and the delay in finding a new buyer has done it no favours. It's important that everything gets agreed," he said.

David Blunkett has warned that pubs and clubs which allow persistent binge drinking face overnight closure under tough new anti-social behaviour laws. He told police chiefs at their annual conference that local councils would be expected to review the renewal of licences at troublesome venues.

Venues are being asked to voluntarily obey a code to reduce disorder before 24-hour drinking is expected in 2005. Mr Blunkett wants pubs to ban cheap promotions and encourage safe drinking. The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) is warning a relaxation of licensing laws could lead to an increase in violent crime.

But the government argues it would ease disorder by tackling binge drinking, which contributes to a £20bn annual bill for alcohol misuse. The government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy is being introduced ahead of round-the-clock drinking. Mr Blunkett hopes brewers and retailers will volunteer to ban cut-price drink promotions, which he said could encourage young people to "get themselves into difficulty".

He also wants venues to promote safe drinking levels and contribute to the cost of providing marshals to keep the peace in city centres at closing time. But Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, said members would object to being asked to fund initiatives to curb problems caused by alcohol.

Acpo's president Chris Fox argued that his members "cannot deal with binge drinking, it is beyond police capability". He said, "Unless we can stop people drinking to excess in crowded clubs, the symptoms, what they do when they come out, will get worse."

The Yates Group has promised not to sell alcohol below certain prices, ruled out "all-you-can-drink" deals, and will offer free soft drinks to designated drivers at the weekend. The moves come at a time of mounting concern about how much alcohol Britons are consuming. Figures from the Department of Health show a fifth of men and one in 11 women are binge drinkers. The Yates Group also promised not to sell beer for less than £1.25 a pint or £1 a bottle, and spirits or shooters for less than £1.

However, the pledge still allows the chain to sell what, to many, would seem cheap drink. Current deals include bitter for £1.44 a pint, Carling lager for £1.69 a pint and two bottles of alcopops for £2.50. Other pledges include reducing the number of shots in cocktail jugs, cheaper soft drinks on Friday and Saturday nights and a switch to toughened glasses to prevent them being used as potentially dangerous weapons in fights.

Mark Jones, chief executive of the Yates Group, said, "So-called binge drinking and its consequences is the biggest single issue facing the bar sector right now. It is not something we intend to fight shy of. Indeed, Yates Group is determined to tackle it head-on and explore ways in which we can continue to encourage our customers to drink and enjoy themselves in a responsible manner." The Office of Fair Trading has warned that pubs which agree minimum prices amongst themselves risk breaching competitions laws. However, a spokesman said local authority-run schemes would avoid the problem.