Agenda item

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, as an introduction to a presentation from the Head of Community Safety Services, Safer, Stronger Communities Team, which includes an overview of the partnership working to date, an outline of challenges faced, and opportunities moving forward, specifically related to the City Centre evening and night-time economy,

The Committee received a report from the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, as an introduction to a presentation from the Head of Community Safety Services, Safer, Stronger Communities Team on the city centre and night-time economy (NTE). The report provided an overview of the partnership working to date, an outline of challenges faced, and opportunities moving forward. The report and presentation followed on from discussion on the City Centre Cumulative Impact Assessment at the Committee meeting held 23^rd January 2024 (minute 35 refers).

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Seamus Kennedy, Principal Liaison & Enforcement Officer, Entertainment Licensing

·  Simon Hodsgon, Head of Community Safety Services

The presentation highlighted the following issues:

·  Leeds had a strong City Centre Community Safety Partnership Board which included representatives of the responsible authorities, the Chair of Pub Watch, representatives of the night time economy and representatives of hotels and venues, and BACIL (Business Against Crime in Leeds). The Partnership also established a Tasking Group led by WYP and theme specific groups to tackle specific issues, such as the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) tasking group.

·  The statistics drawn from the 2023 Joint Strategic Assessment showed areas of service demand by day and time. People and businesses were encouraged to report incidents on the partnership portal –

-  both total crime and anti-social behaviour peaked afternoon to evening, with crime also showing a peak overnight at weekends. 

-  Offences/incidents recorded as alcohol/drink related peaked during the late evening/overnight and at weekends.

-  The data showed that Violent/Sexual Offences generally occurred during the evening/overnight and two thirds of violent crime recorded in the city is male on male violence.

·  Non-statutory measures undertaken by the Partnership provided added value to community safety in the night time economy with a focus on early intervention and prevention. These included the “Ask for Angela campaign” which had been successfully implemented in clubs and bars; Angels of Freedom who worked with LGBTQ community; Safe Zone/Safer travel funded by WYCA which funds safer travel PCSOs at Leeds Bus Station; Leeds Watch/CCTV; Night Street Marshalls; Outreach/Detached Work, Active Bystander training; #Stop the Spike/#No Regrets Leeds campaigns; a Walk Safe App launched in September 2023 which provides users with information on businesses which had signed up to be safe spaces in the city, the Women’s Night Safe Space and Night Safe Leeds.

·  Challenges to the night time economy had been discussed with night time economy businesses to identify measures they could implement to address them, these included:

-  The shift in business - People seek to pre-drink alcohol before going out later in the evening and people sought more experience-led entertainment. The city had become increasingly weekend focussed and had an increased resident population.

-  Management of grey space – information was passed to Highways on taxi ranks and vehicle movements around the city.

-  Management of Social media – particularly it’s influence on people’s perceptions of the city and the fear of crime.

·  Opportunities for additional measures to further improve the NTE experience were identified as including:

-  Development of a Leeds NTE Association.

-  Development of an On Street /In-Premise Code of Practice to provide training and development for staff of the NTE.

-  To give enforcement powers to Night Street Marshalls.

-  Expansion of the Women’s Safe Space to provide another access point in the city.

-  To review and improve wayfaring, transport and access.

The Committee discussed the following issues:

·  The uptake of the Ask for Angela initiative. The Committee noted that the Partnership received reports from premises and WYP on its use. The initiative aimed to challenge and change men’s behaviour and this message had been successfully embedded. The Committee noted that two Members had attended a course for men focussing on how to help women and that course had been rolled out to larger premises in the city, however it was acknowledged that there was high turnover of NTE staff and this should be revisited.

·  The diversification of the city centre offer, improved quality, a later more varied offer and a shift away from alcohol led high footfall premises. The shift to events-led/experiences has and will be crucial for the survival of some premises and Leeds compared favourably to other cities where some premises no longer opened later hours.

·  How to encourage premises located outside of the city centre to join BACIL by further emphasising the benefits of the scheme.

·  The development of an NTE Association which could be further promoted in discussions with the all Party Parliamentary Group and with businesses to take a lead.

·  The background to Leeds’ decision not to implement a Late Night Levy. The Committee noted that a Levy could not target a specific area and would apply across the whole of the Leeds Licensing Authority district. Additionally, a good proportion of the Levy would be ringfenced to the Police to be used at their discretion and not specific to licensing matters.

·  Support for the expansion of the Women’s Safe Space and/or the Night Safe scheme to include a mobile pop-up at the Valentines Fair or near to the Arena on events nights. It was noted that funding was guaranteed for Women Friendly Leeds to run the Women’s Safe Space until September 2024 and future funding could be generated from local business support.

·  The work undertaken with the operators of the three Sex Entertainment Venues in the city following the annual renewal of their licences which included close inspection of the premises, their licence conditions and links with agencies who could offer support and advice to dancers had been provided.

The Committee acknowledged and thanked the team for their work to keep the Leeds NTE safe and their efforts in securing funding to implement the intervention and prevention initiatives. The Committee also supported a suggestion that a NTE walking site visit be arranged for Members to observe the NTE.

RESOLVED –

a)  To note the contents of the presentation which provided an overview of the partnership working and schemes within the City Centre night-time economy.

b)  To note the intention for the Committee to undertake a walking night-time economy site visit which will be arranged for a future date.