Berwick may be in line for boost if booze cruisers cross the border
COULD border booze cruisers bring a boost to Berwick?
As the minimum price per unit of alcohol in Scotland rises to 50p, speculation is flying that Scots could start visiting the border town to pick up cheap cider, beer and spirits.
MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan speculated that the new law could prove a positive for Berwick.
She said: “It may be that this new Scottish pricing policy encourages entrepreneurial activity in Berwick to offer alcohol with a price differential from across the Border.
“I remember the booze cruise activity to Calais in France years ago by UK residents, and we may well see this happen at the Border at Berwick.”
In Berwick itself though, there didn’t seem to be much sign of an immediate surge. In the Brown Bear Inn, manager Dave Goodwin said he hopes the businesses in his town will get a boost. He said: “I suspect it will be good for Berwick – not much good for the designated drivers though. It is probably the supermarkets that will benefit the most, but hopefully it might benefit the pubs and all the other licenced trade here, if people are coming down for the shops they might visit while they’re here.” Berwick resident Kayleigh Rutherford said she had heard friends and acquaintances from across the border mention plans to shop for drink in England. “I think there with be people coming down from places like Eyemouth, which is only about 15 miles away,” she said.
“It will make a big difference to some people – it’s taking the price of cheap vodka and things like that right up, to prices you’re not going to pay.”
In one Berwick off-licence, the owner said she wasn’t expecting much impact from the move.
But she said: “We do get a lot of people staying at the local caravan parks – I have had Scots in here complaining about it, it’s not popular. But we’ll see if there’s any effect here.”
John Haswell, chair of the Berwick Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said he expected the biggest difference would be in the major supermarkets, like Morrison’s, which are an easy drive down the A1 for a “booze run”.
But, he said, there might be opportunities for alcohol warehouses, like those once seen in Calais, which might even fill currently empty units on Berwick’s high street.
There are certainly several empty properties that could be used,” he said.