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Council stubs out planned ban on smoking outside pubs
BARNSLEY Council has backed down from its plans to make the town the first in the country to ban smoking on pavements outside pubs and cafés.
After talks with representatives of the pub trade it yesterday dropped its hardline stance and issued a statement saying it would be left up to individual venues to decide whether they wanted to operate a voluntary ban.
Landlords and caf owners had faced having their 250-a-year licences to allow drinking on street pavements revoked if customers lit up outside their premises. Smoking in beer gardens would still have been permitted.
The proposals, which could have been introduced in April, had prompted a hostile response from licensees, who have already comp-lained of a drop in trade since the ban on smoking in enclosed spaces was brought in last year.
Paul McNicholas, chairman of the town centre Pubwatch scheme, had threatened to go to court to challenge their legality.
Last night Greg Harding, manager of the Walkabout in the town centre, said: "I'm very happy. Banning smoking outside just wouldn't have worked at all – it would have been impossible to police."
He said he would not be taking up the option of a voluntary ban.
Greg Harding said: But he agreed with the sentim-ent of part of the council's statement – issued jointly with Barnsley Licensed Victuallers Associat- ion, the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association (FLVA) and the British Beer and Pub Association – which said some licensees needed to become more responsible in dealing with litter caused by street smoking.
The council also said the licensing forum would monitor the control of litter "with a view to policing the system and the management of future licences."
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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