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Borough bans new bars in bid to curb yob behaviour
Ruth Bloomfield14 Jul 2009
Town Hall bosses in west London are set to ban the opening of new bars, clubs and pubs in an entire neighbourhood amid concern about loutish behaviour and crime.
They are so concerned about noise and rowdiness they are poised to declare part of Fulham a "saturation zone", which means no new licences will be granted, except under exceptional circumstances.
Large parts of the West End have already been declared "saturated", but the policy - introduced under the Licensing Act 2003 - is now spreading to more suburban areas.
Hammersmith and Fulham council is consulting on its plans until September. A final decision is likely in January and would apply to Fulham Road, Fulham Broadway and Stamford Bridge.
Residents complain the area suffers from a "perfect storm" of private school students drawn to the fashionable bars along Fulham Road; the large Australian, New Zealand, and South African backpacker community who fill the pubs around Fulham Broadway; and football fans at Stamford Bridge.
"It is mayhem here on a Friday night," said one 39-year-old female resident, who asked not to be named.
"We get half the kids in London out drinking, many of them underage, loads of Australian and New Zealanders having drinking competitions, and chanting football fans on match days. I am delighted that some action is finally going to be taken."
"The council is of the opinion that however tightly controlled and well-run individual premises are in the area, the number of premises in one location is resulting in issues such as excessive late-night noise, rowdiness, intimidation, litter and criminal damage, all of which have had a detrimental effect on the local area."
Westminster council has introduced three saturation zones, in Soho and Covent Garden, Edgware Road and Queensway and Bayswater, and believes the policy has helped cut crime.Although the three zones cover just six per cent of Westminster they contain more than 60 per cent of its clubs, a third of its pubs and half of its restaurants. Since the zones were introduced, violent crime between 8pm and midnight has fallen by 20 per cent, and violent crime between midnight and 4am has fallen by 14 per cent. Councillor Daniel Astaire, the council's community safety chief, said: "Westminster has more licensed premises than anywhere else in the UK and while we want to encourage people to enjoy themselves on a night out in the city we have a duty to protect our residents from drink or late-night related crime and nuisance behaviour.
"We introduced these stress areas five years ago to combat the cumulative effect of having so many bars, restaurants and clubs in one place. Our policy is designed to ensure we can limit new licences and extensions to licensed hours to manage the city effectively, look after the interests of our residents and prevent crime and disorder. Since stress areas were introduced, violent crime levels have been falling so we believe our policy works."
It is hoped the move will reduce binge drinking. Licences will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Greg Smith, the council's cabinet member for crime and street scene, said: "While we know people enjoy going on a night out, we want to encourage responsible drinking and stamp out antisocial behaviour."
Reader views (1)
Prehaps if they never took all the familys income in council tax people would afford to take their kids out once in a while.Less business will just mean even more council tax next year,putting more kids on the street as parents battle to just feed them.
- Dave, london, 14/07/2009 16:42
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