Late Night Licences – Are We Missing Out?
Now I know I’ll cause controversy with this article and it’s likely to split opinions like a hot knife through butter, but I’d like to hear your thoughts. I’ll divide the post into two sections; for and against. I’ll pop what I believe to be both sides of the argument, then please add your own comments so we can get a well balanced debate and ‘temperature check’ on this topic.
I was out of an evening in Ramsbottom over the weekend and come 11.30(ish) came the all too familiar ‘ring-a-ding-ding’ of the last orders bell. At this stage mobile phones appeared and taxis beckoned – destination Bury. Nothing new or unique with that, however a conversation began about why Ramsbottom doesn’t cater for the late night party goers or those wanting to keep the momentum of the evening’s merriment going? This got me thinking…
Good Idea?
Anybody that has had an evening out in Ramsbottom recently can confirm there’s no shortage of custom in our pubs and bars, and if we look a little closer at the demographic it predominantly consists of 18-35’s. Looking even closer still many chose to go to Bury or Manchester for their nights out – not necessarily for the bars or clubs but for the late licences.
So why are we turning away an opportunity to accommodate this obvious market and put more of the huge amount of money being spent back into our local economy? We could bring a new lease of life into Ramsbottom’s nightlife scene, not in the same way Bury does but perhaps as somewhere like Chorlton does – quirky, cool and in keeping.
On the back of this and looking further down the line could more people be drawn into moving to Ramsbottom? Would this help recover the housing market lull? An improved housing market generally has a beneficial impact on local school. Could we inject more overall into our economy supporting more of our local businesses? Surely everyone would benefit. Granted all of this talk is hypothetical, but could it contain potential. Are we in danger of missing the boat all because of our fear of change and the ‘what if’s?
Bad Idea?
In the past Ramsbottom did gain a reputation for having a few ‘hot spots’. There was a notorious pub that on a Friday or Saturday night you could depend on trouble being the evening’s live entertainment. We’ve just started to move away from that culture therefore would allowing people to drink later into the evening simply stoke the fire once again? Perhaps not, but we certainly shouldn’t rule out the possibility.
What is a certainty is the influx in those out for evenings and drinking for longer periods would warrant an increase of the police and community safety wardens’ presence patrolling at key times. Is this giving out the right message?
Yes, yes, it would bring more money into the Village this is true but the increased need for security, larger workforces and other additional resources could cancel out any real profiteering potential. Also with every ‘supply and demand’ situation will we see an addition of fast food vans/trailers further more degrading Ramsbottom’s character? Not to mention the desecration of the evenings tranquillity.
Well there it is – the two edges of the sword. Please do leave me your opinions; do you think Ramsbottom should consider late licences or are we right to keep the nightlife at arm’s length and leaving it to the big towns?
January 25th, 2010 at 11:24 am
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There’s plenty of ways to stimulate the local economy but the compromise of late night drinking would probably not be to the benefit of the majority of the residents who would not be taking advantage of late night pub-sessions. There would also be a greater incidence of the pub fall-out infringing on the peace of the residents who live in or near the centre of the village, something that is less likely to happen in Bury which does not have a residential centre like we do. It’s a valid argument to consider but to me it’s not one that would stand up to proper scrutiny.
January 25th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
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In response to your article, may I say that both your arguments have credence and are none biased.
I am a resident of this village (not a town) and also a regular customer of the local watering holes and I am against the idea of extended licenses.
There are two different age groups to take into consideration here and the younger element will always want to drink and party till the early hours, which is what we all did in our younger days and the older generation will want to eat, drink, be merry and go home to bed or if your well behaved get a lock in.
Ramsbottom, is a large village of not only long standing families but also the overspill of the larger towns and cities , where people want to reside to get away from the hustle, bustle and noise pollution of larger towns with late night bars and nightclubs, but with a good motorway network to be able to commute to work. The village has a high property value for this reason.
In my opinion and my knowledge of our village an extended licence would only bring unhappiness, in the form of late night revellers and noise pollution, extra police patrols, overspill of trouble onto the pavements and possibly litter filled streets due to excessive takeaways that always spring up with the advent of more bars and late licenses and of course this will have major effect not only on the property value but also on the appearance of our beautiful village.
Late night licences need to be given to those places that are built and geared for late night merriment and not residential areas.
As I have always said you never appreciate what you have got till it’s gone, we are a beautiful village and should remain that way.
January 29th, 2010 at 11:36 am
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So what exactly are we “missing out” on here? Additional noise from people leaving pubs at an even later hour than currently? Extra litter rubbishing the streets of Ramsbottom as a result of careless ‘revellers’ dumping bottles, takeaway cartons and the like on the streets? The town being turned into a late night drinking den?
Oh, I hear it’s all about stimulating the economy and “keeping the momentum of the evening’s merriment going” is it? Well, Aside from the fact that it is simply not good for people’s health to be imbibing for hours on end, there are far better ways to stimulate the local economy than letting people drink until 2 or 3am in the morning. Some investment in better public transport after 9pm wouldn’t go amiss, as would some more affordable eateries (not junk food shops) in the town centre would be good too. A decent local cinema open on a regular basis would be good as would a substantial grant to the civic hall to enable it to hold more community-based events.
Investing in our towns (and cities for that matter) should not always revolve around a booze-fuelled ‘night time economy’. And the night time economy should not always revolve around booze. With a bit more imagination we could stimulate commerce, live healthier lives and still have a good time.
January 29th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
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Many thanks for the comments, but I’d like to make my position clear. This isn’t a campaign nor am I suggesting that late licences would be the only viable way of stimulating the Villages economy. It was merely intended to gauge opinion from what I had heard and seen on several nights out.
I myself am both a long standing resident and frequent patron in the local pubs and bars. Therefore I was taking an objective view of potential opportunity – not a problem that needed solving.
Andy, I concur that ‘booze related’ investment isn’t the ideal solution but we cannot shy away from the fact that just looking around Ramsbottom at the ratios of pubs to square millage it’s clear we are a community that value this type of social activity. I also agree that the repercussions of late night drinking could far outweigh the benefits, but it’s always great to hear from other residents’ point of view.
January 29th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
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Many thanks for the comments, but I’d like to make my position clear. This isn’t a campaign nor am I suggesting that late licences would be the only viable way of stimulating the village economy. It was merely intended to gauge opinion from what I had heard and seen on several nights out.
I myself am both a long standing resident and frequent patron in the local pubs and bars. Therefore I was taking an objective view of potential opportunity – not a problem that needed solving.
Andy, I concur that ‘booze related’ investment isn’t the ideal solution but we cannot shy away from the fact that just looking around Ramsbottom at the ratios of pubs to square millage it’s clear we are a community that value this type of social activity. I also agree that the repercussions of late night drinking could far outweigh the benefits, but it’s always great to hear from other residents’ point of view.
January 29th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
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I agree with the last two residents views about keeping the ‘village’ feel in Ramsbottom as I may be classed as an older resident (I have lived her for 32 years) and have recently been impressed with the atmosphere and ambience in The Lounge and The First Chop and how they have changed the pattern to our nights out in Ramsbottom.I would love more live music and the Civic Hall or The Grants would be fabulous places to hold more regular events. We have a wonderful theatre and I agree more screenings in the Civic Hall would be great,
Heather Dodd
January 30th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
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Ramsbottom Town Centre is quite a densely populated area in comparison with many similar sized towns. There are hundreds of people living above the local shops and in and around the side streets on the fringe of the centre.
Many of them,I am sure,enjoy spending time in the bars and restaurants, but I am equally certain that they would not be happy to live in such close proximity to a small town with a “lively” night-time economy. Would this reduce the value of their properties in the longer term? I think that it might.
Ramsbottom has long had a reputation for being a violent spot on a Friday / Saturday night, and I think that we are gradually moving away from this image. We see far fewer incidents and the pubs seem to have a very responsible attitude to dealing with problem clientelle. Changing the current position could well tip us back the other way.
Surely 1 am is late enough for any licensed premises to serve until? I am sure that the eateries and drinkeries will be able to cash in on the increasing numbers of daytime vistors, without having to rely on an extra couple of hours at the weekends.