Vertical drinking - to be banned?

Food & Drink Food & Drink: In The News
16

You may have read media reports suggesting Westminster City Council is planning to ban people from standing up in pubs - or ‘vertical drinking’.

This is completely untrue. There is not, and never has been, a plan to stop people standing in pubs to have a drink. We want people to enjoy our fantastic pubs and bars - and we want them to do that safely. Our licensing consultation is asking people about the best way to ensure our venues can serve the millions of people who visit London and the West End every year.

Here is a quick guide to what our consultation is - and isn’t - about

Is the council banning standing in pubs?

No. This is 100 per cent untrue.

But your policy document says the council discourages standing while drinking (vertical drinking)?

No, it doesn’t. In the West End, where there are already hundreds of venues, it can be harder to justify a new premises. The policy says that in a small number of cases, it may be easier to get one for a venue where you sit at tables rather than stand up. Most new licenses will look just like they do anywhere else, but for this small group, there’s an extra option to encourage more continental cafe-style drinking. That’s what the policy is all about.

Aren’t you being the fun police?

We encourage and support the pub and bar trade - we approve over 98 per cent of applications, more people are employed in hospitality in Westminster than live in the borough. It’s part of what makes Westminster so special. Our job is to manage the whole area and strike a balance with licensing laws which require us to balance the impact of pubs, bars and restaurants with the interest of business and those who want to go out to have a good time.

It’s important, for public safety and avoiding anti-social behaviour, that we consider if a new venue should also allow standing outside when the surrounding streets are already full of people. In many cases, new venues are allowed to have outdoor standing or drinking space. Venues just need to show that they have considered crowding concerns and put measures in place to keep their customers safe. Sometimes providing additional seating helps ease these concerns. That’s just common sense.

Is this new?

No. Every five years the council is legally required to review licensing policy.

The language about ‘vertical drinking’, and ‘cumulative impact’ has been in place for over 10 years under.

Will the council scrap these plans?

The policies many have raised concerns about are not new. They are the same as they have been for many years. We understand some of the technical terms may be confusing and sound a bit like jargon, so it’s important we as a Council make sure our policy is clear and easy to understand.

That is exactly the feedback we are looking for in our current consultation, and we will be listening and updating the guidance as part of that process.

1 Like
17

Just ban Geezers with beer.

18

that’s completely irrelevant to a discussion about bars and pubs because they are including the hotel & restaurant trade in those figures. It’s also questionable how they reached that statistic.

sorry this is a way of admitting that they are trying to stop vertical drinking while pretending they are not. Every venue has a maximum volume of visitors for fire safety. To say that you need to include additional seating to keep people “safe” is prescriptive and dictatorial. So they are admitting to being such. Just because they say it’s common sense doesn’t mean it is.

how condescending.

they are saying they need to find a better way to explain so that AI doesn’t pick up what they are really doing next time.

19

Theatre and related industry too.

20

don,t eat and drink at the same time

21

Speaking as an ex smoker of nearly 20 years, like it or loathe it, banning smoking in pubs was the beginning of the end for pubs as we knew them.

Pubs that served food, survived, while all those independently owned ‘back street’ pubs that relied on selling booze only, went to the wall.
Mind you, people are drinking far less these days than they used to - particularly the younger generation.

1 Like
22

we smoked and drank standing up yet somehow have survived. I’ll bet this is being driven by insurance costs or similar.

1 Like
23

Yep, I used to smoke in pubs years ago as well, on buses, trains and The London Underground too. It’s hard to imagine smoking on any of the above in 2026. Times change and in my opinion all for the better as far as smoking bans are concerned! :+1:

2 Likes
24

Cleaner air for sure, and better for our health, but no doubt hit the pub trade at the time - many pubs had to reinvent themselves or go under.

Still, as you say, times change.

1 Like
25

That’s because they’re doing drugs instead. :face_with_spiral_eyes:

26

That is a possibility.

27

I hope that’s meant to be a joke! :wink:

28

Drugs always make me thirsty.

29

No joke.
I don’t know where you live, but in our town centre the strong smell of weed pervades the air on almost every street.

30

Yeah here as well, but they’re not young people - i would say in the 40+ age group!

31

I’ve seen, and smelt, weed being used by people younger than 40 just casually walking down the street, as though it’s as (un)natural as smoking a cigarette.

32

Plenty of discarded little plastic bags lying on the ground in local parks in my neck of the woods. I suspect the little herbal motif on the front of some of them isn’t oregano :thinking:

1 Like
33

For medicinal use perhaps…? :thinking:

1 Like
34

Undoubtedly!

1 Like
35

I have two of those, bought from a car boot for £5 the pair, they are very useful. :+1: :laughing:

1 Like