A leading Burnley landlady has given a definite ‘thumbs down’ to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to allow pubs and clubs to open later.

Justine Bedford, owner of The Royal Dyche, has gone so far as to accuse the Government of ‘ignoring the real issue’ and being ‘completely out of touch’ with the hospitality industry.

Sparrowhawk pub and restaurant in Fence owned by Greene King announces closure

“It’s very frustrating, “ said Justine. “The industry is very fragile at the moment and extending opening hours will do nothing to help us, it just means extra costs on top of already rising bills. It won’t drive more business into venues. As a town we have been pushing for late licensing hours to be reduced and this just goes against that. What would help is a reduction on tax we have to pay.”

Burnley landlady Justine Bedford of The Royal Dyche has given a definite ‘thumbs down’ to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to allow pubs and clubs to open later.

Justine has transformed the pub, internally and externally with a new beer garden, balcony area with seating and the creation of the famous Longside area which boasts seats from Turf Moor and its own football pitch.

But Justine feels frustrated that the effort, time and money she has invested in the venue means she ultimately has to pay more in tax as the square footage has been extended. These costs, along with the thousands of pounds she has to pay out in licence fees to stage live music and show sports, all adds up.

Last year Justine won the most prestigious award for licensees in the hospitality industry when she was named as the Licensee of the Year by the British Institute of Innkeeping. Justine was one of six finalists, whittled down from 300 nominations for the title. She was presented with the trophy at the BII summer event held at the HAC Royal Artillery Ground in London. After holding the title for a year Justine is now an ambassador for the organisation.

Justine has even been to Parliament with representatives from the organisation to argue the case against later opening hours, but she believes their case fell on deaf ears as the Government are “too far behind the times.”

Although Keir Starmer has not introduced a specific bill for later pub openings, his government is initiating a fast-track review of licensing laws through a new initiative called "Cheers to Change" as part of a broader effort to support the hospitality sector.