Warning against late licensing at 2014 Games

Advisers say Glasgow’s communities would suffer

A LICENSING free-for-all that would see pubs in Glasgow open until the early hours for the Commonwealth Games would have a major detrimental impact on communities, an official advisory group is warning.

The city’s licensing forum, required under law to advise on local alcohol policy, has urged the council not to proceed with a blanket, Glasgow-wide extension of pub and club opening hours and has called for details on what the policy for the 2014 Games will be.

Pubs and clubs in Glasgow are expected to be given extra opening hours during the Games, as happened during the city’s Year of Culture in 1990, with licensing officials within the council working on how it will manage the liquor trade during the event.

As well as the 11 days of the core event, there will be the Queen’s Baton Rally, the equivalent of the Olympic torch relay, and cultural events, with the head of licensing in Edinburgh previously encouraging Glasgow to use the Games to shed its anti-alcohol legacy.

The licensing forum, which is made up of members of the trade, health agencies, the police and other public bodies, also claims Glasgow’s “overprovision” policy, designed to limit the number of alcohol licences in the city, has failed and claims it should be more robust in its approach.

Reinforced with up-to-date statistics on the volume and location of alcohol-related crime, disorder, deaths and hospital admissions, the report by the forum will be a key factor in shaping Glasgow’s policy on licensing which will run until late 2016.

Rallying against how some venues are giving extra hours after midnight to continue serving alcohol, it claims casinos are exploiting the law by using their ability to stay open until 6am to also operate as nightclubs.

It also states that while no venue in the city sells alcohol for 24 hours a day, 8am openings in some traditional market areas means it is available for 22 hours.

However, given the trade and health make-up of the forum, there have been allegations the policy recommendations have “a stamp of protectionism” on them, by attempting to prevent further saturation of the alcohol market in Glasgow. In its paper, recently

A blanket, city-wide extension of hours during the Games period could have a wider, detrimental impact on the community

presented to the licensing board, the forum claims that “extension of licensed hours in the city only serves to increase the availability and accessibility of alcohol”.

It adds: “Particularly in relation to the 2014 Games, the group was keen to know what the Board policy will be in relation to extended hours.

“It was felt that a blanket, citywide extension of hours during the Games period, particularly in areas outwith the city centre and Games venues, could have a wider, detrimental impact on the community. The sub-group recommends that any extension of licensed hours beyond 1am should be subject to additional scrutiny.

“From the perspective of the licensed trade, extension of licensed hours serves to increase competition amongst licence holders, which in turn drives prices down or forces them to stay the same. Cheap and affordable alcohol fuels increased consumption, which in turn fuels significant increases in deaths and illness, and crime and disorder in the city.”

Three years on from classifying seven areas across Glasgow as being over-provision zones, the forum also claimed the policy was “toothless” and that there had been “an increase in applications for provisional licences within these areas, implying that applicants are ‘testing the water’ before making a full application”.

The forum says: “The general feeling was that the policy has not had much of a deterrent impact in reducing the number of applications.”

Chairman of the forum, nightclub owner Donald McLeod, said: “We need to put on our best face during 2014 and a free-for-all would be absolutely crazy. We need to have careful selection and careful determination of where stays open late.

“Unlike the city centre, many outlying areas are not equipped to deal with thousands of people drinking until the early hours. Neither do these premises have the facilities and services to deal with a late-night customer base.”

A spokesman for the licensing board said: “The forum is a key stakeholder in the licensing system as it represents a broad range of interested parties and so we will study their report with great care along with all other responses.

“The consultation process is still ongoing and we will consult our new policy statement in due course.” VISITORS to The Mound in Edinburgh caught a glimpse of movie magic yesterday as scenes of Sunshine on Leith were filmed in the capital.

Director Dexter Fletcher is pictured with actress Antonia Thomas during filming in the capital for the movie based on the stage play, which features songs by The Proclaimers.

The film follows Davy and Ally, who have to re-learn how to live life in Edinburgh after coming home from serving in Afghanistan. It also stars Peter Mullan and Freya Mavor. Picture: Gordon Terris.