A BOLD local authority plan to ban new pubs, clubs or off-sales has prevented a single licensed premises from opening in the area in the past 12 months.
Scotland’s first blanket overprovision policy has also led to just two proposals being put forward to West Dunbartonshire Council, both of which were rejected by the licensing board.
West Dunbartonshire said the policy has led to a dramatic fall in the number of new liquor licence applications submitted in the past year, with solicitors generally advising businesses that these would not be approved.
The council said the figures undermine critics who claimed at the time of its introduction that the policy was not robust.
West Dunbartonshire became the first Scottish council to declare itself beyond saturation point with premises selling alcohol, and announced it would refuse all future licence applications in a highly controversial move designed to tackle the area’s chronic alcohol record.
More than one in 20 of the area’s 90,000 residents are said to be alcohol-dependent – one of the highest figures in western Europe – and, according to the council, it has the second-highest number of licensed premises in Scotland per head.
The decision followed research by the authority and NHS which they claim demonstrated a clear link between the problems experienced in the area and the number of licensed premises.
Last night, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill urged other councils to follow suit.
He said: “While we are taking tough legislative action at national level, we fully support actions taken by local authorities. The ground-breaking approach taken by West Dunbartonshire is an excellent example of a licensing board using the powers introduced by the Licensing (Scotland) 2005 Act to stop more pubs and off-licences opening in a saturated area.
“This is an approach that other local authorities are taking note of, and boards like West Dunbartonshire will continue to have our full support.”
Andrew Fraser, clerk to the licensing board, said: “The policy has raised public awareness of the extent of the alcohol- related problems which impact not just on health but on the regeneration and economic vitality of our community.
“There is clear evidence of a link between the price and availability of alcohol and the problems it causes, and we welcome the fact that there is a clear Government commitment to deal with low-cost sales of alcohol.”
It is estimated 4489 people within West Dunbartonshire –6% of the population age 15 to 64 – are alcohol dependent, while 12 of the 18 areas in the authority have alcohol-related deaths at least 20% higher than the Scottish average rate.
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