Council set to renew restrictions on pubs

LEGISLATION THAT makes it more difficult for new bars and pubs to open in Whitby is set to be renewed by council decisionmakers this week.

Scarborough Borough Council’s full council meeting will be asked to save the town’s Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), against police advice.

It comes after the local authority’s cabinet last month voted to recommend that councillors keep the CIZ in place, based on anecdotal evidence from the public.

North Yorkshire Police had said that there were not enough incidents of crime and disorder to justify renewing the CIZ for a further three years.

A CIZ makes it harder for an applicant to open a new drinking establishment in the area covered by the zone.

At the time, cabinet member Coun Sandra Turner said she welcomed plans to renew the zone.

“A large part of the zone is in my ward and I can say quite honestly that the residents put forward very measured responses to the consultation,” she said.

“Without the zone in place, the implications for businesses in Whitby will be on a downward spiral.”

In total, more than 250 people responded to the consultation on Whitby’s CIZ alone, with 79.9 per cent of them stating that it should not be removed.

In asking for the CIZ to be axed, North Yorkshire Police pointed to the reduction of crime in Whitby.

When the policy was introduced in 2006, there were some 200 reported violent incidents, compared to 79 in 2016/17.

The new policy of the CIZ will be reviewed until it is up for renewal in 2022.

Councillors will be asked to approve the recommendation for the zone when the full council meets at Scarborough Town Hall on Friday.