Sirius wrote:
"But Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "While I don't want to comment on any individual cases, there's no doubt that Edinburgh already has a major problem with the over-provision of licensed premises.
"We would agree with what the police are saying about over-provision in this part of Edinburgh, but they're merely coming around to our way of thinking. We've been saying this for years."
Now theres a surprise. The SLTA are constantly moaning about pub numbers as is their man in Dundee, who wrote to the Tele here a few years ago to warn people not to get into the trade because it was so bad - in other words, we don't want the competition, just like the taxis.
Now they've latched on to this yob culture business and the police have swallowed it hook line and sinker.
A few years ago the SLTA wanted a 25 year moratorum on new licenses, and it wasnt about yob culture, it was them saying that Dublin has a better pub culture and it would be the same here if they were increasing restrictions like in Dublin. Problem was that Dublin was at that time dumping the restrictions on pubs.
Another one in Dundee just complained because they couldnt open all thier hours because they had no customers - in other words, the business was crap, but they wanted thecouncil to help them out.
If these people had there way we would all be running about in trabants or ladas (half the Dundee taxis were for a few years) or maybe still stuck with the original hackney carriage, horse drawn.
So if the police had there way and the number of pubs was reduced, what would happen -either the pubs would be more packed or people would have to queue or they would go to pubs in other areas, how would this stop the rammies?
Its just another case of the police blaming something else for their own arms folded approach to policing - wait until things kick off, dont' try to prevent it in the first place.
I think its an offence to sell booze to a drunk, but the pubs and clubs just please themselves, and the authorities just let them get on with it.
The Nicholson report a couple of years ago didnt even mention this, as a recall (I didn't read it all, but if someone else knows different, let me know).
Same with a couple of years ago when some councils started fixing minimum prices for booze - rather than taking them on, police and councils just suck up to them, and at the same time the Chancellor is keeping drink duty down in the budget.
P&K council said they had checked with the OFT and licensing law, and they were OK. Then it was challenged in Aberdeen, and the judges threw the book at it. I dont know much about licensing law, but I think thats first year law student stuff - they had no powers, they knew it, but they went ahead anyway and hoped no one would notice.
its easier to suck up to the licenesed trade than take them on, just like the taxis.
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