News

Licensing / 08 January 2018

BBPA welcomes consultation on extended pub hours for Royal Wedding

The BBPA has welcomed the Government’s decision to consult on extended pub hours for the Royal wedding on Friday and Saturday, 18th and 19th May, until 1am the following morning. The BBPA had written to the Home Office requesting the move as soon as the wedding date was first announced.

Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, Brigid Simmonds said:

“This is great news for pubs and pub-goers and shows the government has listened to our calls to put pubs at the heart of the Royal Wedding celebrations.

“Visitors see the Great British pub as a cultural icon, almost as much as the Royal Family. Extended hours would give a £10million boost to the trade and make the most of the expected increase in tourism.”

Extract from letter sent by Brigid Simmonds to Victoria Atkins MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office on 19th December:

Extended Hours – Royal Wedding

Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows for extended hours to be set on a national basis for four consecutive days. Since the Act was introduced in 2005, we have had extended hours for the last Royal Wedding, for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the World Cup. For the first two, extended hours were granted on the relevant Friday and Saturday until 1am and we believe that it would be appropriate for pubs to be allowed extended hours on Friday 18th May and Saturday 19th May. Both extensions would be until 1am the following morning.

On none of the previous occasions did the police report problems related to the extended hours. By our best estimates, beer sales increased by at least 5% and food sales were up by 8% as a result. This equates to a £10 million boost to the pub sector and there is of course a ‘feel good factor’ for the nation on this weekend and what better place to encourage local support than in the Great British Pub.

I very much hope that you and the Government will consider supporting this request and I look forward to hearing from you.

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