I did a public talk last night for the Bishopston Society about the proposed Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) for Gloucester Road. There were about 40 people there and I did a pretty good double-act with Bob Chambers from the St John's Residents Association about how the CIA for Whiteladies Road works.Cumulative Impact Areas are ones where licensed premises (pub, bars, clubs and so on, plus late night food outlets and various others) are more tightly regulated due to the concentration and the public nuisance and crime implications. The idea is that the concentration has reached saturation point and that adding more licenses in (or extending the existing ones) would add to the existing problems.
On Whiteladies Road, the CIA has allowed local residents and councillors to vigorously oppose applications which would cause more nusiance (in the form of litter, noise, brawling, vomit, vandalism and similar), such that we effectively have a moratorium on alcohol sales beyond midnight outside of two premises. In a heavily residential area, this is very important to ensure that working people and families can get a reasonable amount of sleep and that no-one has to contend with some of the worst forms of behaviour.
I am therefore a fan of the concept of CIAs, although there are still weaknesses that I am pursuing with the Council and Police. They help to restore a sense of balance in local communities, trading off some people's desire for entertainment with other people's desire for relaxation and a pleasant environment - a good liberal principle!
The proposed Gloucester Road CIA would run from Ashley Down Road down to just past the Arches, including part of Zetland Road too (see map - click to enlarge). The latter end is in Cotham Ward, so I am backing the proposals. There is currently a consultation period in effect, ending on the 30th April. If you would like to express a view, you can e-mail Nick.Carter@bristol.gov.uk. Nick is the Council's Licensing Manager. There is also more information on the Council website.
13 comments:
Hi Neil, that meeting sounded like it might have been interesting to me, but I did not know it was taking place. Might I suggest you post a notice up here a few days before such things? I'm actually in Jon's ward but things that affect the Glos. Rd. is of joint interest in this part of Bristol.
Apologies bsk - it didn't occur to me to publicise in advance as it was someone else's event. If you've got any questions, happy to try and answer them now.
Thanks, but it's OK I've the BCC site - it just would have been nice to get it from the horses mouth, so to speak. I'm fully in favour of it. I didn't actually realise, until I saw the map, just how many licensed places there are on that stretch. It would be nice to know that there would be a way of not letting the Glos. Rd. go the way of some parts of Whiteladies Rd.
"visited" should have been the 6th word. Must use the preview function.
Great! Do you think a similar idea could work to limit the number of supermarkets and large chain stores developing in the area? With the anti Tescos protests in Stokes Croft still fresh in my mind, I wonder if a similar cumulative consideration could be made of characterless chain stores undercutting small businesses in the area. In blunter terms, it is all very well worrying about Gloucester Road going the same way as some parts of Whiteladies, but I wouldn't want it to go the same way as every other generic town high street either!
bsk - the Whiteladies CIA has been very effective (with a couple of exceptions), with no new late night licenses in the last two years. It just needs residents and councillors to be on the ball to resist those that come forward. We have two on the go at the moment - The Hill wanting to open til 1am and Dominos til 5am! Confident of defeating both.
Carla - Cumulative Impact Areas only apply to licensed premises, so the short answer is 'no'. These sorts of things are laid down in national law rather than local rules.
I completely agree with your sentiments, though, and successfully pushed to change local planning policy to widen the definition of 'community facilities' to cover things like post offices and pubs. This will help a little when it comes into force at the end of the year.
The situation from the Council perspective is that planning law deals with the type of activity, rather than the operator. So Tesco and a corner shop are the same - they are both 'A1' retail use. It is effectively impossible for the Council to veto specific operators. If they tried to, it would end in a lost appeal with big legal costs for taxpayers.
Ironically, the Labour government ditched the supermarket 'needs test' that helped to limit the sprawl of supermarkets in favour of a 'competition test' which actually encourages more different operators into an area!
I really don't think this Cumulative Impact Assesment is a good idea. I have lived near the Gloucester Road since i came to Bristol in my 20s because it is a vibrant high street with all of the ups and downs of that. It is a destination place for young people that is useful as we mature. As one of the few remaining real high streets in the country it should be treated gently. Recent research from USA shows that on-premise drinking caused only a very small rise in antisocial behavour in the surrounding area - the real problem arises from off-premise and home drinking. So we should be careful and guard against pushing pubs with 100 yrs of history out of business in case we get more residential units replacing and breaking down this glorious High Street.
jonbs6 - I think we're on the same page, in fact. What the CIAs are designed to do, in part, is stop the continual influx of new bars that take shop units out of use and threaten the long-established pubs. This is what (I am told - before my time) happened on Whiteladies Road about 15 years ago, with many of the shops going over to licensed premises and shrinking it as a destination, except at night.
The other thing I've had a hand in lately is designating pubs as 'community facilities', which will make it easier to defend them against planning applications to convert them to something else. This should come into force towards the end of the year.
The Gloucester Road must remain a sustainable entity for future use. This facility is a mix of local provision, local retailers, pubs, cafes and resturants, with entertainment.
Residents and local groups need to be able to influence an acceptable balance of outlets through the Cumulative Impact Assessment.
Thanks for your promotion & support.
Hon Sec. Sustainable Bishopston.
Hi Neil,
What happened to this? I understand that we're likely to get a Sainsburys on the corner of Zetland Road. More cheap booze that local residents don't want?
Gavin
Gavin - I've literally just got back from the Council meeting that approved the Gloucester Road CIA coming into force. There might be grounds for opposing a supermarket on licensing grounds in a CIA. I'm looking into what might be doable now as another resident has raised it with me. Is it the old off license that's being converted?
Hi Neil. Yes it's the old Threshers space.
Great news about the CIA! Yes, please do let us know if you find out what we can all do.
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