A special saturation policy in respect of Greyfriars Road and Churchill Way has been adopted by Cardiff Council.
The saturation zone was imposed following concerns by South Wales Police about the cumulative impact of licensed premises in the Greyfriars Road and Churchill Way areas of the City Centre.
South Wales Police believe that the cumulative effect of the licensed premises operating in Greyfriars Road and Churchill Way gives rise to problems of crime & disorder as well as nuisance which is beyond the control of the individual licence holders.
Although there are relatively few licensed premises in Greyfriars Road (6 in total) compared to other streets in the city centre, they are predominantly vertical drinking establishments and are very large in terms of capacity. In addition, violent crimes are traditionally linked with the consumption of alcohol and this is signified by the fact that the majority of incidents have occurred during the hours of 02:00 to 05:00 on Saturday & Sunday mornings.
Greyfriars Road is currently the second busiest road in terms of violent crime within the City Centre, seeing an increase of 387% in incidents in the past two years.
Churchill Way has 13 licensed premises, 6 of which are in the pub/bar/nightclub classification and based more towards the Queen Street end of the street. The rates of violent crime in Queen Street remain relatively high, being the 3rd highest in the City centre. There are 11 licensed premises on Queen Street; however, these are mainly small restaurants or part of shops. It is likely that the close proximity to Churchill Way and Greyfriars Road/Park Place areas are a contributing factor to the crime figures.
A saturation policy has already been adopted for both the St. Mary Street area and the City Road/Crwys Road areas of the city. The Licensing Authority has adopted the policies in the interests of the prevention of crime and disorder and the avoidance of nuisance, following South Wales Police representations.
Councillor Ed Bridges, Chair of Cardiff Council’s Licensing Committee, said: “There was clear support for this proposed new zone when the matter was put out to public consultation earlier in the year, and it also had the unanimous support of Licensing Committee members when we discussed the matter. The character of these two streets has changed immensely over recent years, and our policy has to react to that. However, we will retain a pragmatic approach to licensing, and will consider all applications on their merits.”
Licensing Sergeant Scott Lloyd, from South Wales Police, said: “Cardiff is a great place to come for a night out but it also needs to be safe and one where the needs of the community, business sector and visitors are considered. The saturation policy helps get the balance right.”
