Task group makes recommendations on late night economy

A report into the Lancaster district’s late night economy has just been published.

Lancaster City Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee decided to consider issues within the late night economy with particular attention on Lancaster city centre and central Morecambe.

This led to the establishment of a special task group which took evidence from a range of organisations including the Lancaster and Morecambe BID teams, police, NHS, Chamber of Commerce and Pubwatch.

Coun Charlie Edwards, chairman of the task group, said: “The late night economy is an essential part of the cultural backbone of this country. 

“It also employs 1.3 million people directly, and indirectly engages millions from our amazing emergency services. The police, ambulance and fire services all play their part in keeping the night time safe, providing emergency action and care to those who need it.

“The purpose of the task group was to bring together everyone who supplies, relies and engages with those services to create positive, proactive solutions to the problems that exist.

“It is clear the community works best when we work together, and I believe that the task group’s recommendations will help to inspire a culture of cross collaboration and joint-working, with a focus on safety and vibrancy.”

On Monday June 26 the task group’s recommendations were considered by the council’s Cabinet. 

Recommendations one to four were accepted: 

•     Recommendation 1

(a) That the Community Safety Partnership be requested to establish a SubGroup to continue the work of the Scrutiny Informal Task Group with the membership mirroring the existing Task Group, including Pubwatch.

(b) That the Community Safety Partnership Sub-Group consider appropriate levels of training of licensed premises staff and receive updates provided by Pubwatch representatives of Lancaster and Morecambe.

(c) That the newly formed Sub-Group consider the city centre’s ability to gain Purple Flag Status and also investigate the introduction of a rewards system for well-run licensed premises. 

•     Recommendation 2 

(a) That based on the evidence heard, the Task Group recommends to Council that it continues to give its full support to the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) covering the central area of Lancaster. 

(b) That updates on the use of the PSPOs be reported to the annual Community Safety meeting of the City Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

(c) That the feasibility of the PSPO for Morecambe Town Centre and Promenade be assessed by Lancaster City Council and the Police and reported to the City Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

•     Recommendation 3 

That, after considering the evidence provided, it be recommended that CCTV is vital to the infrastructure of Lancaster city centre and Morecambe. The Task Group agrees that public CCTV is a vital community asset which provides reassurance, deterrence and response. Further to this, it is recommended that work continues with all of the potential partnership participants on building a business case for how a partnership approach to the delivery of a repurposed CCTV system might operate and that a report on this is quickly developed and presented to the Cabinet for consideration. 

•     Recommendation 4 

(a) That the proposed Community Safety Partnership Sub-Group meet with Lancaster University and the University of Cumbria’s senior management and the Student Unions regarding policy and practice on alcohol education, consent, health and safety, alongside the annual consideration regarding student admissions to A & E and calls upon the Emergency Services, in liaison with the University Hospital of Morecambe Bay Trust (UHMBT) and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). 

(b) That the proposed Community Safety Partnership Sub-Group examine the Universities’ Codes of Conduct regarding off-campus behaviour and the use of sanctions for anti-social behaviour relating to alcohol and put forward any recommendations to the Universities for consideration.

Two other recommendations have been passed to Full Council for consideration:

•     Recommendation 5 

That all Members of the Licensing Act Committee take part in an annual early hours visit with the Licensing Team as part of their mandatory training. 

•     Recommendation 6 

That the city council’s policy on the training of staff in licensed premises be reviewed

Last updated: 03 July 2017