DERBY - CITY OF PUBS

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The Island, at the corner of Queen Street and Cathedral Road is to close, after being sold to a mystery property developer. All 13 staff will lose their jobs, but owners, the Laurel Pub Company, who also owns Casa Bar, in Iron Gate, said some staff from The Island will be found work there. A spokesman for Laurel said, "It was a confidential purchase so we're unable to reveal the identity of the new owners. All we can say is that it's a local developer. We've a large portfolio of pubs and are buying and selling outlets on a regular basis. It was decided that the sale of The Island was in the best interests of the company." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Oct/06)

JD Wetherspoon said virtually all its 650 pubs would allow alcohol to be sold at 9am seven days a week once new legislation comes into force later this month. But the chain stated that the majority of early morning sales were expected to be breakfasts, coffees and other non-alcoholic drinks. JD Wetherspoon said, "We believe that we are the the only large pub company to open this early."

The company, which is suffering from the effects of banning smoking in a number of its premises, believes there will be a market for early morning drinking. Eddie Gershon, the company's spokesman, said, "If people want a pint we will give them a pint, if they want a whisky we will give them a whisky but we don't expect to have people coming in and wanting five pints."

He added, "The Government has legislated for 24-hour drinking and if we run a good pub and people want to walk in off the street at that time, what harm can it do? It's not for Wetherspoon to make this a moral issue." A number of its pubs will open from 8am and most will stay open until midnight although some will remain open until 1am or 2am. (Source: Mail on Sunday)

Changes in licensing laws to allow pubs, bars and clubs to remain open for 24 hours are not proving popular with landlords. Only a handful of pubs have applied for 24 hour licensing ahead of new legislation which come into force in November 2004. Pubs, bars, off-licences and nightclubs have been able to apply for licences since February 2005 to open round the clock. In Liverpool and Manchester not one pub has applied and only six have done so in Westminster. Venues are able to apply for extended licences but will have to inform the local community to give them and the police 21 days to object.

Mark Hastings of the British Beer and Pub Association said on BBC Radio Four's Today programme he was not remotely surprised by the findings. "I think this is one of those 'we told you so' moments," he said. "When the hype first started around 24-hour opening, we said at the time not a single pub would open for 24 hours. And that is proving to be the case and will continue to be the case." Mr Hastings said the pace of applications would pick up in the next few months. But he said pubs did not want to open round-the-clock. They were only interested in staying open a couple of hours later on Fridays and Saturdays, he said. He also said the "enormous" red tape was discouraging landlords from applying. (Source: The Independent)

Three venues in Derby have applied to extend their opening hours under the new licensing laws. When the Government's plans to introduce the Licensing Act 2003 were first mooted, there were fears that it could lead to 24-hour opening and binge drinking. Since the act came into force, any premises with a liquor licence, including restaurants, pubs and clubs, can apply to extend their opening hours. So far, only The Vines, Allenton Royal British Legion and The Babington Arms have applied to Derby City Council to extend their hours. The Vines, Sadler Gate, wants to be open until 2am from Mondays to Saturdays and until 11pm on Sundays.

Allenton Royal British Legion in Chellaston Road wants to extend its opening hours by half an hour every night, meaning that it would close at 11.30pm from Mondays to Saturdays and at 11pm on Sundays. JD Wetherspoons pub, The Babington Arms in Babington Lane, has applied to extend its opening hours in the mornings and at night. From Sundays to Thursdays, it wants to open from 9am to 12.30am, and from 9am to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. According to Dick Udall, head of Derbyshire police's licensing department, there have only been about four licensed premises out of 3,700 in the county that have shown an interest in extending their hours.

Previously, licensees applied to magistrates to change or extend their hours. Now they must apply to local authorities. The police check all applications and raise issues if they feel that the proposed hours might cause problems. under the new system, the largest city or town-centre pubs will have to pay £1,905 to apply for a late licence under the Licensing Act and a further £1,050 annual fee to maintain it. Smaller pubs will have to pay between £100 and £635 to apply for the licence. Previously, pub and bar owners paid £30 every three years for a basic licence to serve alcohol until 11pm (10.30pm on Sundays) regardless of the size of the venue. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

Drinkers in pubs are to be told to stand in a queue and banned from ordering more than two drinks at a time at the bar. Rope barriers similar to those used in shops and post offices will be installed to keep customers in line. The plan has been proposed following concern over disorder and violence in a town centre's bars. The two-drink limit is intended to curb binge-drinking and stop customers ordering large amounts of alcohol. In addition, customers would not be allowed to drink while queuing.

Under plans drawn up by Oldham Council, all 22 pubs in the town centre will have to comply with the new rules. The 2003 Licensing Act allows police and trading standards officers to apply for variations in a pub licence if there is concern about drink-related violence and disorder. Most variations of this kind involve restrictions on opening hours. Oldham, however, has come up with its own ideas and is understood to be the first authority in the country to propose a queuing system.

Licensing committee member Derek Heffernan said, "There would have to be some form of barrier so people couldn't push past, either a rope or perhaps something stronger. It would be the end of buying a round but we have to do something to calm things down. There have been fights and stabbings and it's not right that people going out for the evening have to worry about being attacked."

Mark Hastings, of the British Beer And Pub Association, said, "We have no problem with tackling problem drinking but this is not the way to go about it. These measures are costly, unnecessary and totally disproportionate at a time when around 40 pubs are closing every week. People aren't going to want to drink if they have to queue up as if they're in the post office."(Source: Daily Mail, May/09)

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