Early Morning Restriction Order (EMRO) – Hartlepool again?

In 2013 Hartlepool Council were the first council to consider the imposition of an EMRO. 

We appeared at the hearing where it was resolved that the matter was not to be pursued. The only other attempt at an EMRO was in Blackpool and was also unsuccessful.

News reaches us from the local Hartlepool press that there is a suggestion that a further application for an EMRO may be made. It has been reported in the Hartlepool Mail that, following a meeting of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership on Friday, it has been resolved by that body to ask the Council licensing officers to revisit the matter. The article states as follows;

“The Safer Hartlepool Partnership agreed to ask the council’s licensing officers to revisit using Early Morning Restriction Orders (EMROs) that could force places selling alcohol to shut at 2am instead of 4am.  It is after the partnership considered an annual report which said the estimated cost to Hartlepool of alcohol misuse is over £30 million a year and is strongly linked to violent crime. More than a third of people who attended Hartlepool’s Minor Injury Unit after being assaulted were linked to alcohol.  The report added drink-related violent crime is highest in the Victoria and the Headland and Harbour wards and is predominantly linked to the night-time economy”

These are clearly very early days for the consideration of adopting an EMRO - but we will keep you updated with any further developments. The full article in the Hartlepool Mail can be found here: www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/.