SHOULD Liverpool end its self-imposed prohibition and allow more bars to open in city centre night spots?

The council’s licensing and gambling committee is grappling with the issue, just days after the travel bible Rough Guides put Liverpool’s nightlife in its top three list of  "50 things to do before you die".

There are 184 licensed premises in the Ropewalks area. In 2012, following increasing violence in the city centre and with concerns raised by the police, the council imposed a Special Cumulative Impact Policy covering both it and the Cavern Quarter.

That came two years after a similar policy was introduced in response to a rapid rise in the number of bars in Allerton Road and Lark Lane.

The orders give the council power to refuse further licensing premises in those "impact" areas.

The life span of the impact policies are due to expire in January and now a consultation exercise has to be started in all the zones to decide whether they should continue.

Now an outside consultancy is set to be hired to do the study, as the council does not have the manpower to carry out the job itself.

The Ropewalks and Cavern Quarter zones were introduced in 2012 at the request of Merseyside Police because of a nine percent annual rise in assaults in some areas of the city centre, including those two  where the night time economy is concentrated.

The policies give the licensing committee power to prohibit new bars if councillors fear they would have an impact on the area.

John McHale, interim head of licensing, said in his report: “These SCIPs have now been in existence for over three years and therefore, in order that it can be demonstrated that they continue to be appropriate and justified, it is necessary to review whether they should be retained as they are, discontinued, or retained in an amended form. In the event of an appeal against any decision which relies upon either of the SCIPs it will be essential to demonstrate that such a review has been recently carried out."

He added: "The licensing authority does not have sufficient staff resources to carry out such a consultation in-house and therefore it is proposed to carry out a procurement exercise to engage an appropriate consultant to provide the service. It is intended that this consultation process should run alongside the separate consultation which will take place generally with regard to the new Licensing Policy Statement."

It is proposing to carry out the consultation over a 10 – 12 week period and report the results to this Committee in Autumn 2015 with a view to full Council approving any amendments to the Policy Statement by January 2016.

 

The current state of night life in the ‘impact’ zones

 


Ropewalks

There are approximately 184 licensed premises in the area covered by the Ropewalks SCIP, broken down as 159 Bars/Restaurants, 11 off licences and 14 late night refreshment premises. Bold Street, once described as the Regent Street of the North before sinking to a ‘bargain basement’ street in the 1990s has enjoyed a spectacular renaissance in recent years, with new coffee shops, bars and restaurants

Cavern Walks

There are currently approximately 56 licensed premises in the area covered by the Cavern Quarter SCIP, broken down as 50 bars/restaurants and six late night refreshment premises.

Allerton Road

Since the introduction of the Allerton Road SCIP there has been a small reduction in the overall number of licensed premises from 32 to 29. Of the current 29 licensed premises 23 are licensed for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises

Lark Lane

Since the introduction of the Lark Lane SCIP there has been a small increase in the overall number of licensed premises from 21 to 25. Of the current 25 licensed premises 20 are licensed for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises.