Newcastle hotel bars told to cut nuisance

Councillors in a residential district of Newcastle claim that the growing popularity of hotel bars has led to a dramatic rise in drunken disorder.

Police patrols have been stepped up in the Jesmond area of the city and the council has warned licensees to cut the level of noise and nuisance.

Liberal Democrat councillor Lucy McKeever said: "At closing time on Friday and Saturday nights there are hundreds of people milling about on the pavements. People who have lived here for many years are finding life intolerable."

According to McKeever, there are about 50 hotel bars within one square mile. She added: "To my knowledge, these were always just residents' bars. Nobody can quite understand how all this has happened so quickly."

One of the most popular bars is Osbornes, which opened in May as part of a £5m refurbishment of the 50-bedroom New Northumbria hotel.

General manager Carrell Nicholson said that following advice from the police, his security staff would be more "proactive in the control of customers leaving the premises".

TABLE: Osbornes: will control customers