Councils resist 24hr drinking

London councils are challenging government plans for 24-hour drinking, fearing they could fuel an outbreak of yob culture.

One borough has warned that it will not issue round-the-clock licences, while others are drafting tough restrictions limiting the relaxation of licensing laws.

Conservative-run Enfield said binge drinking would worsen if bars were able to stay open beyond the current 11pm deadline.

This runs contrary to the Government's belief that less crime and anti-social behaviour would occur if pubs and clubs were able to stagger their closing hours.

Ministers believe varying "chucking-out time" will reduce peak demand for late-night taxis or takeaway food, minimising flashpoints that can lead to violence.

But Enfield has endorsed a draft policy which requires councillors to consider carefully the potential for crime and disorder if they grant a late licence.

By law, each case will have to be judged on its merits but Enfield has sought top legal opinion supporting its hardline stance.

Terry Neville, cabinet member for the environment, said: "I am certainly not advocating a form of prohibition but many residents do not want to see a crazy 24-hour drinking culture in our borough.

"There is part of our society that suffers from yob culture and a lot of this is down to our country's obsession with binge drinking. I am not convinced allowing pubs to open for 24 hours a day is the answer."

Councils are currently consulting the public on their new licensing policies. Under the Licensing Act 2003, councils can begin work on licensing premises next February. They will gain full power from magistrates' courts in November 2005.

The Government believes passing control from the courts to elected councillors will make the process more democratic. It will also streamline the process as councils already have responsibility for issuing late opening, music and dancing and cinema licences.

Other boroughs to raise concern about the effect of the proposed changes include Westminster, Camden, Lambeth and Richmond. Westminster, which has the greatest concentration of licensed premises in the UK, has proposed "core hours" for pubs of 10am to

11.30pm, extending to midnight on Friday and Saturday. It now has 337 premises open after midnight, and their licences will remain valid after next November's changes.

But the council already opposes late licences for its three "stress areas" - the West End, Edgware Road and Queensway - and aims to encourage a greater mix of entertainment venues to open at night.

It also wants publicans to introduce "cooling down" periods, where food and non-alcoholic drinks continue to be served to allow revellers to sober up before heading home.

Lambeth said it feared greater nuisance to residents if drinkers were walking around later at night. It also proposes a midnight deadline and will only extend this if licensees vow to prevent nuisance, help pay for police or CCTV and if there is public transport nearby.

Richmond will require licensees to prove that late permits will not add to rowdy behaviour, while Camden proposes careful scrutiny of applications for closing times between midnight and 6am.

A spokesman for the Department of Culture said councils could not adopt a blanket ban and had to treat all applications on a case-bycase basis.

She said only two per cent of venues were expected to open 24 hours a day.