Oxford pubs call time on late licenses
Necking pints before closing may not be a thing of the past
From 24th November, pubs across the country will be serving alcohol 24 hours a day. The new proposals have been heavily criticised for not considering all the issues at stake. Surely, then, you might think, the epidemic of drink-related violence will not be solved by giving people a few extra hours drinking time. In Oxford however, this does not appear to be the major issue at stake.
Many applications for extended licences are still subject to approval, but the picture that is emerging is one of tentative landlords, and overstretched police, which will probably result in drinkers noticing little practical difference.
While the government heralds longer licensing hours as the solution to the national drink and violence problem, the minority of pub managers and licensees in Oxford planning to take advantage of the new legislation may be held increasingly accountable for drunken disorder in the city.
Research by The Oxford Student has found that around three quarters of Oxford’s pub and bar owners have applied for later opening hours, but only a tiny minority intend actually to use the full seving time granted to them by the new licences. Similarly, whilst all Oxford’s college bars have had to apply for their first ever licence, having previously been exempted by the ancient Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act, almost all of them will still be ringing last orders at 11pm.
So why aren’t more Oxford pub managers embracing the chance to serve longer? For college bars, the answer lies in Oxford colleges’ universal reluctance to allow more drinking than strictly necessary, at least on their own doorsteps. They have never been required to adhere to public opening hours but have chosen to do so at their own discretion. As well as having to pay bar staff for longer hours, the very fact that they are college bars means that student welfare has to be a consideration.
Whilst any Oxford student can drink until 2am any night of the week, colleges cannot be seen to be complicit in it. Nick Tilly, Bar Manager at St Peter’s, was keen to emphasise the welfare aspect: “We want to provide a good service, but in order to do that we’ve got to be fair from a welfare point of view. At the end of the day, people are here to be students and they do need to pass their exams.
?? Many college bars have not yet been organised enough to submit their licence applications, but of those who have, none seem keen to serve past midnight. St Hilda’s College bar has requested to extend opening hours until 2am for up to 20 events a year. However, they will be reserved for the special events for which college bars have always opened late such as Gaudies (reunions for college alumni) and end of term bops.
“It’s just a cover,” Jerri Kane, Domestic Bursar at St Hilda’s, told The Oxford Student, “Essentially there’s no change to the hours we’ll be open. We only intend to open later for a few odd events.” Other colleges in the process of preparing their applications expressed similar intentions, with several telling the newspaper of their plans for only slightly extended opening hours. Outside of the University, it is a different story.
Several city pubs, including The Turf, The King’s Arms, and The Hobgoblin did not seek later hours and whilst they were subject to a blanket application by their management chain, their bar managers are not confident that they would make enough revenue in the extra hours to cover the additional expenditure required.
Darren Kent, manager of the popular Turf Tavern, told this newspaper that the dominance of students in the city would not make longer hours economical: “Students will always have the same amount of time and money. If anything changes they’ll probably just go out later.” Thames Valley Police share the view that drinking levels will remain fairly stable and they also estimate that crime levels will remain the same, but they do seem concerned about the effects of 24-hour licences.
The problem lies in the fact that the police do not have the resources to maintain a sufficient presence on the streets all through the night. “We can’t employ any more police to go on the beat when the changes come in because we won’t be getting any more money,” explained Oxford Police Area Licensing Manager, Bill Denver.
As well as the right to veto applications and request additional security measures, the police are able to request that all venues reduce the closing time on their applications to 3am. In theory, therefore, the police have the power to regulate and watch licensed premises very closely. Thames Valley have already put these discretionary powers into practice by requesting that all pubs who sumbitted applications to serve alcohol until 6am, reduce their preferred closing time to 3am.
The licensees who do wish to take full advantage of the new legislation take this argument a step further and say that later opening hours will actually reduce late-night noise and violence in the city.
Despite his application to serve until 2am at weekends being rejected due to residents’ complaints, owner of The Oxford Blue, Robin Edwards, is strongly in favour of late closing: “There will be fewer problems if we close later, because at the moment there is a mass exodus down Cowley Road at 11pm. If we change our hours, people will be more likely to just drift home quietly.” This is also the attitude of several other venues in the area, including The Globe and The Fir Tree.
The managers of both pubs believe that their plans to serve later will prevent rather than increase binge-drinking and will have no detrimental effect in an area which is notorious for being noisy at night. Despite the rejection of The Oxford Blue’s application, the general feeling amongst those applying for later hours is optimistic.
Riohard Dennhey, manager of The Old School Yard, who plans to serve until 6am, is unconcerned about potential problems: “This is a generally quiet pub where there have never been any problems … We want to encourage more casual, sensible drinking and be a place where people can go for a relaxing drink and something to eat if they finish work late.
Food is a factor for several of the later opening pubs who view themselves as relaxed, family-orientated places rather than student express-boozing centres. The Bear, who will give opening until 1am a three-month trial, will extend the kitchen opening hours until 10pm. Manager Ian Stevens believes closing time will be brought back to 11pm due to lack of business, but is unconcerned about the possibility of increased disturbances.
“If there are problems we’ll just have to watch the doors a bit more,” he said. It seems that it is largely those who already represent a more sensible approach to drinking: quiet pubs with food, who are embracing the opportunity to serve later. Indeed any pub which already receives a high level of noise complaints and to where the police are routinely called, will find it very difficult to obtain a later licence.
Venues considered to be a problem by the police are now going to be required to employ door staff and some have been asked to install CCTV. Any reported disturbance can result in onthe- spot fines to bar staff and licensees. Examined and appointed Designated Premises Supervisors for each licensed venue are personally liable for any disruption. If they are deemed to have acted irresponsibly in serving someone they could now be fined up to £20,000.
It seems therefore, that Oxford is tiptoeing into late-licensing. Many premises simply do not want the hassle and the expense of serving alcohol past 11pm and do not see later opening as either profitable or desirable. Like The Bear, extended opening hours are probably entering a prolonged trial period and, in Oxford at least, it seems that most of us are unlikely to notice the difference.
But if the few pubs taking advantage of late-licences see a sharp increase in profits and clientèle, and the police are correct in predicting little or no change in crime levels, perhaps 24-hour, continental style drinking will arrive in Oxford over a more extended period of time.
5th Oct 2005