Your say / Nighttime Economy
‘Cumulative Impact Area is essential safeguard not attack on prosperity’
In my opinion, Labour councillor for Eastville, Marley Bennett, was a very effective chairman of Bristol’s Licensing Committee before his appointment to Marvin Rees’ cabinet in autumn 2023.
I was therefore disappointed by the tone and content of his recent opinion piece in Bristol24/7 criticising last month’s carefully-considered decision by the cross-party Licensing Committee to retain Bristol’s city centre Cumulative Impact Area (CIA).
Specifically, Marley makes the absurd claim that Conservative and Green opponents of scrapping the CIA were “causing harm to our hospitality sector by voting to keep the outdated and heavy-handed” policy.
is needed now More than ever
I doubt that there is a greater exponent of the free-market economy sitting in the council chamber than yours truly and it is almost comical to be lectured on cutting red-tape and bureaucracy by a member of this Labour mayor’s cabinet!
Indeed, I have been regularly accused unfairly by political opponents of being a Conservative ‘hardman,’ purely motivated by promoting the private sector’s money-making interests.
Richard Eddy says that retaining the city centre Cumulative Impact Zone was “a victory for common sense and listening to the opinions of Bristolians who would actually be affected if it was ditched – photo: Martin Booth
Marley Bennet seems to conveniently forget that councillors serving on the Licensing Committee are not there just to give the green light to every money-making initiative, but are bound by statute to uphold the licensing objectives – to ensure alcohol-use is not abused, anti-social behaviour does not arise and there is not a negative impact on young people from licensed activities.
I also have to admit it does not come easily to make common-cause with Green councillors (who I have derided publicly as “demented lentil-eating amateurs”), but – at least on this subject – they know first-hand the problems experienced by their constituents in Central and Hotwells & Harbourside wards.
Cumulative Impact Areas are a key weapon in Licensing’s armoury aimed to placing restrictions on new pubs, bars and late-night takeaways which may give rise to crime and anti-social behaviour.
Until four years ago, Bristol had CIAs in places like Whiteladies Road and Stapleton Road, but these were controversially ditched after Avon & Somerset Police failed to produce evidence of the value of them.
Bristol City Council recently undertook a review of the sole remaining Bristol CIA covering the city centre and the harbourside – in which more than two-thirds of those who responded to the consultation wanted the council to retain this important Licensing policy.
In addition, the police were strongly of the opinion that crime and anti-social behaviour during nighttime hours had reached saturation levels and the current CIA policy was crucial in enabling them to address the problems.
Remarkably, the Labour mayoral administration proposed that the Licensing Committee completely ignore the findings of our own consultation over the policy – including the views of the police – and councillors should ditch the policy.
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Read more: Bristol’s nighttime economy at ‘saturation point’ say police
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On January 25, the first occasion when the Licensing Committee met to consider the CIA policy, cabinet member Marley Bennet submitted a public forum statement, arguing strongly in support that we should drop the provision on the ground of encouraging commercial activities.
Fortunately, the sharply-divided Licensing Committee deferred a final decision until more councillors were present and the Bristolian public had a proper chance to submit their considered views.
The second meeting on February 29 received scores of Public Forum submissions all arguing – with evidence – that the quality of the residents’ lives would be made infinitely worse if the city centre and harbourside CIA was scrapped.
After considerable questions and debate, Bristol’s Licensing Committee voted overwhelmingly by seven votes (three Conservatives and four Greens) to four (three Labour councillors plus one Lib Dem) to retain the CIA.
In my view, a victory for common sense – and listening to the opinions of Bristolians who would actually be affected if the CIA was ditched – was achieved!
I strongly believe that the Cumulative Impact Area is an essential safeguard for a civilised city and not an attack on prosperity and choice that Marley Bennet claims.
This is an opinion piece by Richard Eddy, Conservative councillor for Bishopsworth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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