Leeds is partying too hard, according to the police

Not really surprised tbh


Plans for a 24 hour takeaway have been temporarily approved despite objections from the police that the Leeds city-centre party hotspot has reached “saturation” point.

Despite warnings from the police, a six month limited approval for Space to Eat so late night refreshments can be served until 5am at the venue in Hirst’s Yard, Duncan Street. This has been granted by a Leeds City Council licensing panel.

A report to said panel states that the venue is situated in the current “red zone” of the city, and highlighted that the preferred policy is to “seek to refuse all applications in these red areas” because they “cannot support any more premises opening or extending their hours no matter how impressive the concept or application is”.

The report continued: “The location of these premises is in very close proximity to a multitude of other licensed premises in this area. It is an alcohol related violent crime hotspot for robbery, assault and theft. The peak time for crime is between midnight and 05:00 hrs. The majority of hours of operation applied for…fall right in to these peak times.”

Police say resources frequently have to be deployed and “the saturation of the area is such that determining which venues may bear some responsibility for the issues is practically impossible”.

The report to the panel added that the Briggate/Call Lane area has experienced a 17 per cent rise in reported crime since the last review of crime statistics a year ago.

“Hirst’s Yard has its own particular problems and much work has been carried out between operators, local police officers and licensing officers to help reduce the amount of assaults, robberies and drug issues therein.

“I am not sure that creating another late night refreshment outlet, which would encourage people to stay in that congested area, would improve the area.”

In December, the West Yorkshire Police were calling on the council to help cut the number of visitors to Leeds city centre because of concerns about rising levels of crime and disorder in areas that are already known for heavy boozing.