A leading licensing lawyer has claimed that early-morning restriction orders (EMROs) could “close down town centres” if they are implemented by local councils, writes Adam Pescod.
In an exclusive interview with the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, sister title to M&C Report, Philip Kolvin QC said he believes insufficient thought has been given to the potential consequences of the measures, which are set to come into force in October and will be available to local authorities from April 2013 at the earliest.
“I have very great worries about these measures,” said Kolvin, who is also chairman of the national Best Bar None scheme.
“I feel the same about these sorts of measures as about putting surface-to-air missiles on the 17th floor of an east London tower block.
“It’s nice to have in reserve but if used in an ill-considered way, it could cause very serious problems.”
However, he did add: “If they are used in a fully considered manner, then some of my worries will disappear.
Kolvin went on to explain that once a “curfew” is placed on a town centre via an EMRO, the knock-on effect could be such that all jobs directly and indirectly linked to the night-time economy are lost.
He said: “If you were to take a town centre, and go to its central core, and put a curfew of midnight on it, you would lose the nightclubs.
“If you lose the nightclubs, you might lose the feeder bars. If you lose those, you might lose the cinemas, the restaurants, the taxi trade, the door supervisor trade, and all the jobs that thread into those bars — not just direct jobs such as barstaff [but] the indirect jobs such as the plumbers, electricians and local supply lines, which supply the food and drink to those enterprises.
“In the midst of a double-dip recession, it has closed down the town centre.
“And as has often happened in the licensing world, it works by the law of unintended consequences.
“So there is a real danger that licensing committees whose expertise is licensing regulation will be passing legislation with enormous potential socio-economic consequences for their local area without giving themselves the time or expertise to make the judgment on what those socio-economic consequences are.”
Kolvin’s concerns were echoed by other key figures in the industry.
“It is a dangerous tool and it could shut down town centres,” agreed John Hayes, chairman of the Bar Entertainment & Dance Association. “I have always said that they (EMROs) are ADZs (alcohol disorder zones) in a different set of clothes.”
British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds said she was concerned about the impact this would have on the local night-time economy.
“Local authorities do have to think very carefully about the effects of introducing an EMRO. Are they transferring a problem from their town centre to somewhere else? And how will it affect local employment?”
