Residents have appealed for better regulation of Durham City’s night-time venues and likened it to the ‘Wild West’ after an investigation found pubs, restaurants and takeaways are continuing to trade outside of their permitted hours. 

The City of Durham Parish Council has called for better regulations and stricter enforcement after it found 26 venues are currently trading later than their permitted licensing agreements allow. 

A report found that the city centre is “saturated” with 232 active licensed premises but 144 premises do not have any planning restrictions at all in terms of their operating hours.

Durham County Council has pledged to continue working with businesses to ensure they follow the rules. 

The report also identified a significant number of discrepancies between the hours some premises were able to operate based on their planning permissions versus the hours permitted by licensing - a matter the Parish Council has said will lead to venues abusing the system.

A parish council spokesperson said: “The fact that the city is so heavily saturated with licensed premises in the first place is seriously concerning to us.

"Whilst a safe and thriving night-time economy is what we all want to see in Durham, the fact that we now have over 230 licensed premises and more on the way, presents a huge safety and policing challenge, not to mention the impact this has on daytime footfall.

“More damning still is the fact that this report lays bare the inadequate regulation we have in place in the city at present. 

“This report clearly shows that planning and licensing are failing to communicate with one another. The fact that premises seem to be able to operate when and how they like is edging into the ‘Wild West’ territory quite frankly.”

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Ian Harrison, the council’s business compliance manager, said: “We take any breaches in conditions very seriously and will continue our work with businesses to ensure premises only trade within the hours for which they are approved.

“Whilst it is appreciated there are a number of licensed premises in Durham City, these premises do not just consist of drinking venues such as bars and nightclubs.

"They include entertainment venues such as cinemas and theatres, shops and supermarkets, as well as dine-in restaurants. All of the licences granted are either historic or were the subject of public consideration as is required by the Licensing Act 2003.

“As both a licensing authority and a planning authority, we must operate within the laws that apply to each of these functions.

"The different laws can mean, in some circumstances, that licensing hours and planning hours will not be the same. However, the licensing department and planning department are in regular communication with each other to ensure consistency where it is legally possible.”