New law threatens to call time at the bar

Paul Bolton reports on licensing legislation that is hitting cricket clubs in the pocket

A campaign against new licensing laws which threaten to deprive clubs of valuable income is faltering despite the issue being raised in Parliament.

Clubs across the country are assessing the financial and bureaucratic implications of the 2003 Licensing Act which will come into force in November. The Act will mean a significant increase in the cost of a bar licence for all sports clubs with the new fees based on the rateable value of their grounds. At present clubs can obtain a five-year licence for £15 but it is likely to cost them between £100 and £190 for an initial registration under the new law with a further annual fee of between £70 and £180 thereafter. The new Act also requires clubs to produce plans of their premises, an additional cost on top of legal fees. Applications for the new licences have to be made to local authorities by August 6.

Hugh Robertson MP, the shadow sports minister and keen cricketer, raised the issue in Prime Minister's Questions on March 2, fearing that the law changes would be too much for many clubs. "The effect of the increased fees will be either to drive some clubs out of business or to affect the amount of money they have available to spend on other areas such as youth development," says Robertson.

Robertson then wrote to the Prime Minister, whose written response concluded: "I hope that I can reassure you that we do not want sports clubs to be unfairly burdened by disproportionate fees. If, in practice, that turns out to be the impact of the new licensing arrangement then we would be prepared to adjust the position."

The ECB has already made strong representations to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport about the potentially damaging impact of the new regulations. David Thomas, the secretary of the Midlands Club Cricket Conference which represents 400 clubs, has also taken the matter to the top.

Thomas believes that the requirements of applying for a licence under the new act will force some clubs†to decide that it is no longer economically viable to run a bar. The DCMS response said: "The Government does not accept the case for an exemption from the new licensing fees for sports clubs - which would effectively be a subsidy for alcohol consumption, rather than for participation in sport."

But Frank Kemp, the ECB's operations director for recreational cricket, is more optimistic that the lobbying of James Purnell, a new DCMS minister, and by sports governing bodies through the Central Council of Physical Recreation, might yet force a rethink.

"We have made our views known to the DCMS, we have written to MPs making them aware of the potential impact the new act will have on amateur cricket clubs across the country," says Kemp. "We have pointed out the inherent unfairness of the process which uses rateable value as the basis for the new fees and which treats not-for-profit clubs in the same way as high street pubs. As a result of our lobbying we hope that DCMS will be persuaded to review the issue."