Late night drinking: A staggering suggestion that works elsewhere

From John ONeill.

I WRITE with reference to a recent article in your paper, in which it was suggested by Senator Ian Le Marquand, the Minister for Home Affairs, that food outlets around the Weighbridge should be closed early at weekends in an attempt to prevent people from stepping dangerously onto the road during the weekend late hours, which I assume he perceives to be a major issue concerning nightclub closing times.

Further to this, the proprietor of the Burger Palace indicated in a subsequent letter to you that if he were to be asked to close early his business would become unviable, as these early hours are essentially the key hours during which he is able to generate turnover that provides a sufficient contribution for him to meet the overheads of his business.

I have been driving a taxi in Jersey for some 42 years now, so am more than aware of the issues that surround closing times at the Weighbridge.

In fact, after reading the various articles I revisited some old correspondence I have dating back to 1993 between the Jersey Taxi Drivers Association and particular Senators of the time.

It would seem that the same issues are being discussed today as they were then. These issues are not specific to Jersey, but are – or, in many cases, were – nationwide issues, mainly how to safely disperse people from areas surrounding nightclubs and late night drinking bars at closing time.

As far back as 1999, correspondence by Councillor Richard Leese, who was then of the Manchester City Council, was published in national newspapers and illustrated the benefits of staggered closing hours.

It would seem we have been slow off the mark here in Jersey and our government continually revisit the same issue without any regard for the experience of those who have come before them.

The latest example of a Jersey Senators’ suggestion, in this case Ian Le Marquand hoping to solve the congestion problems at the Weighbridge at weekends, is to close all food outlets early.

I find myself astonished at the lack of understanding he has demonstrated in this statement. The congestion solution is, in the view of many well-informed UK government councillors and police departments, to be found by staggering the closing hours of nightclubs and late night pubs.

However, if we were to consider the impact food outlets have on late night congestion, I would advocate the opposite to Senator Le Marquand. Food outlets do have a staggering impact on the people attempting to leave the Weighbridge area during the hour after closing time.

I would like to see more food outlets open, which have a sobering influence on young people and relieve the stress placed on capacities at closing time, eg, police capacity, who need to understand where people will be, and taxi drivers capacity, who need to get people home safely. I would urge Senator Le Marquand to talk to people with experience and to read about staggering closing times initiatives that have been successful in the UK before introducing any rash and ill thought out rules that will not help congestion and are not useful to business.