Concern over rise in alcohol-related harm in city

Incidents of anti-social behaviour in York city centre's alcohol restriction zone went up over the past year, councillors have been told.

The most recent statistics also showed the city had seen a higher number of alcohol-related hospital admissions than the England average, according to a report seen by councillors into the impact of licensed premises.

Rachel Melly, chair of City of York Council's licensing and regulatory committee, told a meeting that "alcohol-related harm is a concern".

The data would be taken into account when the council updated its licensing policy later in the year, she said.

Discussing the authority's draft licensing policy statement for 2025-30, councillors heard that anti-social behaviour in York city centre's alcohol restriction zone - where it is an offence for a person to continue consuming alcohol when requested to stop doing so by a police officer - rose by 15% in the last year.

Meanwhile, the city had seen 1,908 alcohol-related hospital admissions per 100,000 people in 2022-23, which the council's licensing committee was told was "significantly higher" than the England-wide rate for the same period.

The report stated that an increasing number of pubs and bars were now offering activities such as "bottomless brunches", with unlimited drinks and food for a set period.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillors were told that another trend in the past five years was bar staff walking around and offering shots of spirits to customers.

Council officers said that had led to people consuming large amounts of alcohol and fuelling the increase in anti-social behaviour.

In response to a consultation on the authority's plans to update its licensing policy, one bar owner called for alcohol-related problems to be handled better by police and the council.

They said: "We have a thriving student population and a reputation in the city of good pubs and licensed premises.

"But, I fear if this situation isn't better-controlled we will lose this, and I hope it will not take a very bad incident for the council to wake up and deal with this."

Another bar owner commented: "York's charm lies in its historic appeal, unique character, and vibrant but balanced nightlife."

Responding to the consultation submissions, a council spokesperson said that its policies encouraged venues to promote customer safety and to work with them and the police to tackle problems.

"We are aware York is a popular city for day trippers and weekend visitors, due to our excellent rail links, who come to the city to visit the pubs and bars which can create an increase in anti-social behaviour," they said.

The authority had "worked with partners and the licence trade to tackle the issues associated with these, such as introducing a code of conduct", the spokesperson added.

During the meeting, Melly told councillors: "Alcohol consumption is related to crime, anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse, health problems and even death.

"So, when we were updating the licensing policy, all of the concerns and the data about this impact on the people of York was closely considered."

A consultation on the plans to update the city's licensing policy would be discussed at a further meeting, Melly told councillors.

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