Your Shout: Trevor Shelley, Shelley Sandzer

	!

In the light of licensing restrictions and, more importantly, local Unitary Development Plans, demand for restaurants, bars and clubs is outstripping supply. In many prime areas retail values have exceeded restaurant values. Accordingly, in situations like the Pharmacy in London's Notting Hill Gate, this restaurant use has now been lost and replaced by a Marks & Spencer Food Store. Similarly, the Duke of York pub in Westbourne Grove has now been replaced by a Nicole Farhi store. Shelley Sandzer receives a lot of enquiries for restaurants in prime locations, but many restaurants have now changed (which can be done automatically from A3 to A1) to retail use and local authorities are not granting any new consents or, for that matter, consents to replace losses elsewhere within the borough. Many years ago, restaurants were considered either as an afterthought or as a poor relation to the retail offer, and it was therefore very difficult to acquire restaurant premises in the high street. During one of the earlier recessions, when retailers suffered terribly, both landlords and local authorities decided to boost the high street by relaxing their stance and agreeing to lettings to restaurants, and this, many years later, came to create a well-balanced high street. I wouldn't wish to see us revert to the old days and have a complete imbalance. I feel that unless there's a fairly abrupt about-turn in policies relating to planning and licensing, London and other major cities in the UK will lose their cachet as major tourist destinations that's taken years to build up. Lets hope that now, having seen the errors of their ways, local authorities will be quick to react.