Reducing red tape
Somewhat lost in the furore over the budget, the Government has announced plans to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They intend amending the planning rules to make it quicker and easier to redevelop small sites, especially ‘brownfield’ ones. This could be generally useful, so long as the site in question isn’t a former pub.
There are also plans for leasehold reform, in particular the banning of ‘upward only’ rent reviews. If this is applied to the operations of the large pub owning businesses, it might reduce the high turnover of tenants and franchisees who often give up at the end of their first leases when faced with a ‘take it or leave it’ rent increase.
A new National Licensing Policy Framework is to be introduced. The intention is to make it easier and quicker to open new bars and cafes, especially in unused shops. This builds on the existing High Street Rental Auction scheme. The use of outside spaces for drinking and dining will be made easier with the creation of ‘hospitality zones’ where the licensing arrangements will be simplified.
There will also be protection for existing pubs and clubs from noise complaints arising from new developments with the ‘agent of change’ principle being introduced into national planning and licensing regulations. This means that in the event of sound-proofing being required in a new development, it will be down to the developer to foot the bill.
It is planned to make extensions to licensing hours for special events, especially regular ones, easier to arrange by limiting the requirement for Temporary Event Notices (TENs). A six-week consultation began on 6 December as regards extended opening hours for the men’s football World Cup (11 June to 19 July).
One item that received a mixed reception is the decision to end the requirement for statutory notices of new alcohol licence applications to be published in a local newspaper. Some felt that this would be unfair to those who wished to raise objections.
Keeping us safe
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 is now in force. Readers may know it better as ‘Martyn’s Law’, named after Martyn Hett, a victim of the Manchester Arena outrage. It will affect larger pubs and clubs. Those with a capacity in excess of 200 will need to set up clear arrangements for lockdown, invacuation (moving people into a safe place inside when the threat is external), evacuation and communication. The rules for those venues with a capacity of over 800 are more demanding, requiring a security plan. This work needs to be done within two years of April 2025 when the Act took effect. Staff training is seen to be the most important element.
Pub is the Hub grant funding
The Government’s early termination of the Community Ownership Fund caused a lot of bad feeling, especially with several projects falling through when almost completed. Although it is not by any means a replacement (or intended to be), some funding is now being made available by the Pub is the Hub (PitH), a not-for-profit organisation founded by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales. They will make grants of up to £6,000 to publicans in rural, remote or deprived areas to enable them to develop the services that they provide to their communities. These could include adding the likes of cafes, village stores or craft workshops to the pub. Rural pubs are particularly under threat and so such diversification could be a lifeline.
Deposit Return Scheme
The implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which requires a fee to be paid to cover the recycling costs for single-use drinks containers made from PET plastic, steel or aluminium (although not glass), has been postponed again, this time until October 2027