UK's 'vertical drinking' row sparks debate amid calls for controversial ban
Lawmakers are locking horns amid a proposal to limit ordering from bars and drinking ‘vertically’ in Soho and London’s West End, with Sadiq Khan slamming the policies as ‘restrictive and anti-growth’.
The borough of Westminster, home to members of the British royal family, has some 500 wet-led establishments and around 1,750 cafés and restaurants, the BBC has reported.
Soho’s square mile, meanwhile, features icons like Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, cocktail bars including Cahoots Underground and the Little Scarlet and Violet Door, and favourites such as Village Soho and Opium Cocktail Bar.
Head down to either area post-5pm, and you’re likely to see office workers and casual tourists alike spilling out onto pavements, each with a pint of good stuff or a glass of wine.
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But the common sight could soon become something of a nostalgic memory if a new draft licensing policy comes into action.
Westminster Council, which has jurisdiction over Soho and the West End, has recommended that a ban on ‘vertical drinking’ be put in place. Instead, customers should be seated at tables and order via servers to avoid standing at the bar.
The policy proposes that pubs applying for an alcohol license should: “Discourage excessive drunkenness and encourage the provision of more seating in premises that serve alcohol for people to sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service in place of open bar space that caters for high volume vertical drinking.”
It goes on to recommend that sales of alcohol and food should be ‘by waiter or waitress service only’, as per The Guardian.
The council has also suggested that new pubs and bars will be rejected if they want to open inside the ‘cumulative impact zone’, which encompasses Soho and large parts of the West End.
“The council will normally refuse any application made in respect of a premises located in the West End Cumulative Impact Zone that is a pub or bar, a fast food premises or a venue offering music, dancing and similar entertainment,” the draft policy reads.
Khan, who has served as the Mayor of London for more than a decade, and Andy Burnham’s former Greater Manchester night-time advisor, Sacha Lord, are leading the charge against the proposal.
“This is more evidence that restrictive and anti-growth policies aren’t working,” a spokesperson for the former claimed.
“At a time when venues need our support more than ever, the rules on licensing are stacked against them.
That’s why the new powers the mayor is getting from government are so important, as they mean the mayor will be able to call in licensing decisions and have a say in local policies to protect London’s vital nightlife and hospitality industries.”
Lord called Westminister council the ‘most anti-hospitality council in the UK’.
“Their draft licensing policy is out today and is recommending banning standing in pubs, and they don’t want people ordering at the bar. It’s like dragging us back to Covid times,” he added.
In response, Tim Barnes, Westminster city council deputy leader and cabinet member for growth and planning, said: “We want people to go out in the West End and have a good time.
“Our guidance is simply about encouraging venues to manage their customers so people don’t pack on to pavements or excessive drinking doesn’t disturb others passing by.”
He continued, claiming the so-called ‘cumulative impact zone’ is recognised as an ‘area that has a high concentration of activity and particular policies exist for that in Westminster and the mayor’s London-wider planning’.
“There is a legal obligation to look at every application on its merits and we do just that, meaning we see new venues opening all the time,” Barnes added.
If the proposal goes ahead, you'll likely have to dive into your favourite pubs early just to bag a seat.
Topics: UK Food, Alcohol, Drinks, Restaurants and bars
Ella Scott