New round of ideas in binge-drink battle

OLDHAM’S attempts to transform the town centre from the “Wild West” into a safe haven for drinkers are gaining momentum with talks to introduce a national scheme to drive up standards in licensed premises.

Last week’s “Panorama” programme showcased Oldham’s unique take on reducing booze-related violence and binge drinking, which has seen the council introduce strict regulations in bars flogging cheap drinks.

Now, local licensees are looking to seize the opportunity to build on the scheme’s potential success, by introducing the National Best Bar None scheme.

The scheme, which offers Best Bar None status to bars which have reached a minimum standard on a set number of criteria such as how many door staff are employed and how rigorous their anti-drugs policies were, was first discussed in Oldham in 2004, but licensees were luke-warm on the idea.

Now, traders are keen to embrace the idea and help clean up our streets.

Principal licensing officer at Oldham Council, John Garforth, said: “There’s a recognition among the traders in Oldham that we can’t just review the licenses and have done with it. We need to keep that momentum if we are going to make the town centre better long-term.

Best Bar None was originally piloted in Manchester back in 2003 and has since been implemented in 80 towns and cities.

Mr Garforth added: “Many good people have a good night out in Oldham, but there are problems.

“We need to make sure that we’re all on the right path, which seems to be the case at the moment.

“We will now leave it to the town centre Pubwatch scheme and will support them if they go forward.”

Funding of the scheme remains an issue, but Mr Garforth said that some of the money could come from the area base grant — a pot of money shared by different local organisations, including the council and the police.

Noctis (Latin for “of the night”) is the organisation which represents the interests of businesses operating in the night-time economy.

Executive director Paul Smith, who is also on the Best Bar None national board, said: “The Best Bar None scheme is a great initiative which encourages bars, pubs and clubs to raise their game.

“It also tends to attract a more diverse mix of people to a town centre.

“Oldham’s night time economy caters mainly for 18-24 year-olds at the moment and that needs to be broadened out.”

Lee Le Clercq, the North of England Secretary for the British Beer & Pub Association, also welcomed the scheme, but dismissed Oldham’s license reviews, as discussed in Panorama, as draconian.

He said the council should have targeted only the few bars and clubs which were creating a problem. “If you have a bad apple, you pull it out of the barrel, you don’t throw all the good apples out with it as well,” he added.