Call for 'health' powers to limit alcohol licences

Hartlepool council wants health to be part of discussions on applications to sell alcohol

Council chiefs say they want more powers to control the numbers of shops and bars licensed to sell alcohol in a bid to tackle health "challenges".

The statement by members at Hartlepool Borough Council was triggered by a discussion on the authority's local health and wellbeing strategy.

Councillor Gary Allen, chairman of the adult services committee, said the number of licensed premises was a "public health issue" amid concerns over alcohol misuse.

Craig Blundred, the council's director of public health, said the authority was lobbying the government to include considerations about health as part of discussions to grant alcohol licences, in the same way they are considered for new takeaways.

It comes after councillors asked if the local authority had carried out any work looking at the number of premises licensed to sell alcohol in the borough, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Blundred said the issue needed to be addressed because of the impact of alcohol on people's health, including addiction and increased mortality rates.

He said: "Obviously it's something we continue to lobby and campaign for, but we do as much as we can along the lines of the licensing objectives."