One last call for alcohol licences... (From Warrington Guardian)

One last call for alcohol licences...

A SUBSTANTIAL number of pubs, clubs and community centres in Warrington which have missed the deadline for licensing changes could see their opening hours reduced.

Under new guidelines, all premises which want to sell alcohol had to apply for a licence conversion by Saturday if they wanted to guarantee the same opening hours which they currently operate under.

But Warrington Borough Council says that a 'substantial' number of licensees have not submitted their application by the deadline - meaning they have to apply for a licence from scratch by November.

Not only does that mean increased costs for licensees, but residents will also be able to have a say over whether premises should be given a licence, and if the council's license committee thinks they have legitimate concerns, a pub which currently shuts its doors at 11pm, for example, could be forced to close earlier.

Both the council and the police are urging any outstanding licences to be submitted by September 24 to enable them to be processed in time.

If an application is not processed by the deadline date in November, premises could be forced to stop trading until they have an application approved.

Meanwhile, it seems the idea of round-the-clock drinking is unlikely to take off in Warrington, with 3.30am the latest time a Guardian search revealed, although Sainsbury's is believed to have applied to sell alcohol 24 hours a day.

However, given the quantity of applications that have arrived at the council, a definitive search was not logistically possible.

The Government says late licences will curb bad behaviour by stopping drinkers from heading home at the same time, but Cheshire Police has raised concerns that it might struggle to police late night drinking.

Speaking at a meeting of the police forum, Chief Superintendent Helen King said: "I would have concerns about places which have had previous problems with their licenses, but we are working with all venues.

"The main issue faced is until 3am. I have overlap shifts of officers at weekends - one deployed to the town centre and one to the rest of the town.

"But if licensing went to 4am or 5am, it would be impossible to police."