BARS and nightclubs risk being fined and having alcohol licenses withdrawn if their leaflets continue to litter the streets. From April landlords will need to get permission from Nottingham City Council if they want to distribute promotional material outside their premises. The new powers being introduced under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act could mean they are refused renewals on drink licenses if they don’t comply.
Chris Bailey , the manager responsible for street cleaning, told the council’s city centre working group yesterday (Tuesday) that his staff spend the majority of night shifts picking up leaflets. He said: “The absolute volume in which these are distributed is really shocking. This controlled zone will help us.” A two week council survey of clubs and bars revealed that some are handing out several different leaflets on a single night, with each expected to have a print run of up to a thousand.
On one night Stealth handed out five different leaflets and 14 across the period. Lost Weekend distributed four on one night and a total of nine over the survey. Council leader Councillor Jon Collins said it is important that different departments talk to each other so landlords know the rules. He said: “We need to be really tough on this. It would good if some of the bigger clubs are put out of business as a result because they are the ones giving Nottingham a bad name. “The lap dancing clubs need to be warned they are breaking their license if they hand out leaflets at all.”
Working group member Councillor Brian Parbutt also supports the move. He said: “This offers us the opportunity to have a cleaner city at no extra cost. If the street team are not picking up leaflets they can focus on other areas of cleaning.”
Mark Gee December 4
Forwarded from Nottingham News Agency:
http://www.nnagency.co.uk/