Booze laws and slump calling time on licensees

New figures reveal that there are now around 220 fewer licensed premises than last year.

Licensing officials say they have never seen as few applications as they have had in the last year.

The economic downturn and the controversial new licensing regulations have been blamed for the sharp decline. There are now 1,700 premises, excluding registered clubs such as bowling clubs, that have a licence to sell alcohol, compared with 1,920 last year.

It is thought that many of the 220 licences to have gone will have been small firms such as guest houses and convenience stores, which feel that the process of gaining a licence is now too costly.

But they will also include scores of off-licences, bars and restaurants that have gone out of business during the recession.

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "Since the smoking ban, a lot of premises have never really recovered, and when you add to that the cost of buying alcohol in supermarkets and the economic downturn, a lot of people are struggling.

"Edinburgh was over-provided for and always has been. It is no surprise that numbers are declining now. All in all, it is not a good picture at the moment and that is why we are so clear about trying to help the licensed trade through minimum pricing. It would help to stop alcohol abuse by stopping using alcohol as a loss leader."

He said that 53 UK pubs were closing every week, including an average of around four a week in Scotland, while very few new people were entering the industry.

Under the new regulations, all premises that sell alcohol had to get a new premises licence by the end of last September, costing a minimum of 800. They also had to submit an operating plan, often drawn up with the help of a lawyer and even an architect.

Pubs were also required to appoint a premises manager and pay for additional training on new laws for all staff.

The sharp dip in the number of premises selling alcohol in Edinburgh in the last year is in sharp contrast to the previous decade. In 2000 there were 1,928 licensed premises and by 2008 there were 1,929

Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer And Pub Association, said: "We've got a target of growing tourism in Scotland by 50 per cent by 2015. If we have fewer licensed premises we're on the back foot right away, particularly in Edinburgh, where tourism is such a big industry.

"It is a concern because a lot of local pubs are almost community facilities. Once you lose a local pub there is an impact on jobs and spending in the local area. There is a real concern about the future of the local pub and I hope it is picked up by the politicians because they don't seem to appreciate the problem."

A city council spokesman said: "We've never had so few licensed premises in the city. I think that a lot of premises probably thought that the new Act was too much hassle, such as corner shops, guest houses and places where alcohol was only a small part of their business, and just gave up."