Fears raised as council enforces pubs’ outdoor seating curfews

A pub owner has expressed concern that trade could drop due to a curfew clampdown which requires venues to remove outdoor seating by 11pm.

Marc Griffiths, the owner of the Mothers’ Ruin and the Crown, said that permission to have outdoor tables and chairs was not required until the pandemic when Bristol City Council first sought licences for them. The timings of the licenses reflected the opening hours of the pub, Griffiths added.

The 49-year-old told Bristol24/7 the Mothers’ Ruin, dubbed the “world famous dive bar” on St Nicholas Street, has been operating with dozens of outside covers until the early hours of the morning since that time without any complaints.

But council employees have recently visited pubs around the Old City to “remind them of the conditions they signed up to when they applied for outdoor seating/pavement licences at their venues” due to noise complaints. These stipulate customers must be inside by 10.30pm and tables and chairs to be removed by 11pm each night.

Griffiths said that these terms have not been enforced until now and is worried the loss of trade between 11pm and 2pm, the Mothers’ Ruin’s busiest times, could threaten the future of his businesses.

The Mothers’ Ruin Bar was established in 2007

“We’ve been operating since 2007 and had tables and chairs outside for that time and it was never a problem to anybody,” the pub owner said.

“Then over over the pandemic we were told by the council, we needed a pavement licence, which is fine, to regulate our seating.

“We applied and got granted the licence, which mirrored our trading hours from 10am till 2am in the morning, six days a week until half past midnight on a Sunday.

“But last week, we had an enforcement officer from the council, who told us that our licence only runs till 11 at night, essentially meaning we have to have all people, tables and chairs inside by 11pm.”

He warned that without tables, trade and public order could worsen as drinkers late at night spill out onto street with nowhere to sit down.

Griffiths added: “This crackdown really puts a big strain on our business’ ability to continue to trade.”

A spokesperson from Bristol City Council said: “Following noise complaints by residents in the Old City associated with late night drinking on the tables and chairs covered by these pavement licenses, council officers have contacted businesses to remind them of the conditions they signed up to when they applied for outdoor seating/pavement licences at their venues.”

Carly Heath, Bristol’s nighttime economy advisor, added: “Old City is a vital part of our nighttime economy and licensing is an important way of balancing the needs of businesses and those who live in the area.

“If licensees feel the conditions of the licences they applied for could do with being reviewed I’d welcome the chance to speak to licensed premises on this matter.”

All photos: Betty Woolerton

Read next:

• Celebration as closed Bedminster pubs begin to reopen
• Hospitality outdoor seating to be extended until September 2023
• Venue of the Month: the Mothers’ Ruin

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