Alcoholization of Hebden Bridge?
From Ralph Nimmann
Tuesday, 5 December 2017
Are Hebden Bridge's Market Street and New Street turning into a booze zone? Recently several new licensed bars and drink places have opened - now I hear that the NatWest building New Road / Crown Street will turned into a bar.
I do not mind any single one of these businesses - but together I feel it's too much: we've reached a tipping point.
I don't want Hebden Bridge turn into a booze town.
Hebden Bridge prides itself for its unique, diverse and quirky shops, cafes and businesses. Shoppers or cafe users don't disturb others - but groups of drunk folks roaming through streets and park may intimidate others and become a noise nuisance. Do we want to attract this? Profit and money should not be the only incentive for making decisions for the future.
Since the Vocation beer bar opened, Old Gate seems less crowded; I guess a new bar might struggle making ends meet.
I hope the council will stop giving new alcohol licences in Hebden Bridge and would prefer another enterprise than a bar on our main road.
From Kevin S
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
It's not just bars. All the cafes seem to also be acquiring licences to sell alcohol and open later too.
My concerns are that we seem to lose a retail shop and gain a cafe / bar, the old tree house has now gone and again another eaterie will take its place. How many cafes / bars does a small town need and is there really the footfall for all of them.
From Andy M
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Is there the footfall? If there's isn't, they will close.
Supply and demand.
From Graham Barker
Thursday, 7 December 2017
A friend who runs a business in Hebden Bridge makes the interesting point that the new small bars and café have comparatively good flood resilience. It doesn’t take much to furnish them and on any given day there won’t be a huge sum tied up in stock, much of which will also be at a safe height. If he’s right, perhaps we should be asking what other types of business could risk occupying those premises if not those that sell alcohol or coffee.
From Gary W
Friday, 8 December 2017
The council seem to handling out alcohol licences like confetti recently. As someone that's lived on Market Street for nearly 2 decades, I was really unhappy with the decision to give one particular cafe/bar a 2am licence. Lots of people live next to this place and the noise generated when it does open so late is considerable. Especially with the smoking ban, which means noisy drunken people preventing any residents from nearby getting any sleep until they close.