0835 Leisure Summer 08_aw.indd - HLL Humberts Leisure

Outdoor drinking areasSun, fun& outdoorissuesJohn Coen of Ford & Warren Solicitors considersthe impact of too much Summer fun.It seems, if one has not spoken too soon, that summer may have arrived after what appearslike a very long wait. In true tradition, we understandably head in droves for the greatoutdoors. What better way to enjoy the great outdoors then with a pint of your favourite inyour hand. Yes, that much under used pub asset, the beer garden or outdoor drinking areasuddenly becomes very popular. It is not surprising that pub landlords are happy for theirpubs external area to be much used given the fact that in many cases they will have investeda considerable sum of money in making them as comfortable and welcoming as possible fortheir customers.Good weather (plus the smoking ban) will undoubtedly result in the great outdoors beingenjoyed in your local for considerably longer hours and by a greater number of customersthan would otherwise be the case.More people drinking (and smoking) outside can often result in more noise being created bya pub’s customers. This may not be a problem if the pub is a considerable distance from yourneighbours’ homes (or in other words, out of ear shot) but if it is within ear shot one couldhave problems on one’s hands. These problem could well sour the sun & fun element ofone’s summer.The possible problems may be categorized as follows:Noise from people using an outdoor drinking area.It is very hard to limit or reduce the noise that people make whilst talking, laughing andgenerally enjoying themselves. In most case, if this does not carry on too late into the nightthen one should not encounter too many problems from one’s neighbours, the police or thelocal authorities environmental health or pollution control officer. That said, just like it seemsas though every class at school had a bully, most pubs appear to have a neighbour who issome what sensitive to noise.Problems may well arise if some of one’s customers use “colourful language”, shout asopposed to talk to their friends, sing (or at least try to) and/or misbehave themselves.The best way to try and minimise noise issues in an outdoor drinking area is to patrol itas often as staffing numbers allow. These staff can incorporate within their patrols, glasscollecting, cleaning ashtrays, tables, etc.If these staff feel some customers’ conductneeds to change then they must possessthe confidence to politely ask the peopleconcerned to quieten down or to go insidethe pub. Clearly if the foregoing does notwork then the customers concerned shouldbe asked to leave the premises.Ideally these external patrols should berecorded in a log book so that there isevidence that steps are been taken to“police” the outdoor area to ensure patronsare behaving themselves. If it is foundnecessary to ask customers to leave then thisshould also be recorded in the log book.Noise from regulatedentertainment (music)If a premises’ licence permits one to providelive and/or recorded music outdoors, it isvery important ensure compliance withsuch time limits that exist concerning itsprovision, e.g. live music outdoors to finishat 20.00.Conditions may also have been placedon a licence requiring, for example, thatexternal music must not cause a nuisance toneighbours. If there are conditions relatingto the provision of external music then likeall other conditions on a premises licencethese must be complied with (whether onelikes or loathes them).34 Summer 2008