Spin-off nuisance from anti-smoking laws
Noise from drinkers who pop outside from pubs, clubs and restaurant for a quick smoke is causing problems for nearby residents, councillors have been told.
Noise from drinkers who pop outside from pubs, clubs and restaurant for a quick smoke is causing problems for nearby residents, councillors have been told.
But the question of whose responsibility it is to tackle the spin-off problem from the smoking bang is also being shrouded in a haze.
Disturbances outside an un-named Cromer town centre pub were highlighted by a member of North Norfolk District Council's licensing committee.
But Richard Price said a landlord had told him that once the customers had left the premises they were someone else's responsibility.
He felt the committee needed to have a policy on the matter, and as a former licensee himself, said landlords should be thinking about their neighbours and trying to calm down situations.
Licensing officer Tony Gent said activities in the grounds came under the council's control, but people on the pavement were a matter for the police.
Most Read
- 1 Former coastal restaurant up for auction
- 2 New woodfired pizza restaurant could open in Norfolk town
- 3 Where you can see the Red Arrows over Norfolk this weekend
- 4 8 places where you can see fireworks for free in Norfolk for the jubilee
- 5 Book shop partners open new branch for second-hand volumes
- 6 Revealed: Your favourite fish and chip shop in Norfolk
- 7 See inside 'stylish' barn conversion for sale in north Norfolk
- 8 Norfolk man dressed as Henry VIII launches special Jubilee railway
- 9 Platinum Jubilee: Guide to North Norfolk events
- 10 Neighbourhood plan takes another step forward
People often spoke loudly after they had been in a pub, particularly if there was music inside. But while a weekend patrol after midnight by officials showed North Walsham and Fakenham were “lively”, Hot and Sheringham were dead, and Cromer was the deadest.
Environmental health manager Chris Cawley said there was a relatively small number of venues where there was a problem. Officers carried out visits to try to get co-operation, and were in liaison with police and proprietors in a bid to educate patrons.
The only real sanction the council had, as a licensing authority with control over events on the premises, was to cut down operating hours if someone complained and call for a review of the licence.
The council was doing what it could by raising awareness, seeking to influence the police who were a “key player” in tackling the problem, and asking residents or businesses affected to seek reviews of licences at any problem premises.
