Closing Time For Our Pubs

Jan 20 2008 By Mark Aitken And Billy Paterson

Last Chance Saloon Warning As Licence Soars To £3800

PUB landlords fear they will be forced to close due to huge increases in the cost of alcohol licences.

The standard £86 fee is set to soar to as much as £3800 this week.

Last night, licensed trade boss Paul Waterston warned: "There is no doubt these new measures will lead to closures and hardship, particularly in rural communities where pubs are still reeling from the smoking ban and the attack on their profits from the cheap sale of alcohol in supermarkets."

If the price hike is approved, from next year pubs and stores will have to pay a one-off fee to become licensed then an annual charge, both based on their rateable value.

The one-off payment ranges from £200 to £2000, while the annual fee varies from £180 to £900.

Heather Brass, who owns the Kings Arms Hotel in Barr, near Girvan, Ayrshire, said: "Previously we paid £137 every three years but we will have to make an initial payment of £800 and £220 per year thereafter.

"Places will close and the affect on tourism will be devastating - people won't come to a place if there is nowhere for them to drink.

"I've started a campaign to have a rebate for licensed premises in rural areas."

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill is backing the licence price hike.

He will tell the Scottish Parliament justice committee on Tuesday that just 63 per cent of the licensing system is paid for by licence fees, with the rest footed by the public.

He said: "It's wrong the taxpayer has to subsidise the cost of those who profit from the sale of alcohol.

"Alcohol misuse costs communities enough already without them having to pay toward letting others make money out of its sale."

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