New bars restriction in city set to be maintained

STRICT controls over parts of Liverpool city centre to prevent new bars opening to drink-fuelled trouble are to be maintained.

But there will no extension of city council-imposed controls to other areas, following  a review of the city council’s licensing laws by a scrutiny committee recently.

Areas including Allerton Road and Lark Lane have been covered by Special Cumulative Impact Plans which were introduced in 2010, which allow the police and council to block new bars, restaurant and clubs if they could make it harder to control the areas.

Other parts of Liverpool, including the Cavern Quarter and the Ropewalks area were later lumped into the SCIP restrictions.

The council says it wants to continue these SCIPs because they have high levels of support from the public.

However, it looks like there will be no new SCIPs brought in for any other areas. A report to the city council said “there is insufficient evidence to support them at this time”.

The city council is due to meet tonight at Liverpool town hall to discuss the report.