Little village 'is like the Wild West at weekends'

Residents and businesses in a picturesque Lancashire village are to be asked if tougher licensing policies are needed to tackle alcohol-related anti-social behaviour.

One resident of Whalley - which has 35 licensed premises - said the village had become like the "Wild West", with drinkers coming from as far away as Blackpool and Rochdale.

Other villagers complained about late night disturbances, piles of vomit and empty beer glasses discarded in the street.

Lancashire Police said it was working with Ribble Valley Council and residents of Whalley, which has a population of 4,052.

The current "cumulative assessment impact", which has existed for nearly five years, requires business owners to demonstrate that any proposed food, drink, music and hospitality activity plans will not have a negative effect on the village.

A minority of venues were recently criticised by the council which claimed that, while most were well-run, some had a negative impact.

Queen Street resident Peter Foley told Local Democracy Reporting Service: "There must be over 30 licensed premises in Whalley - too many. People are coming here from all over the place.

"Whalley’s a little village but it’s like the Wild West at weekends.

"People come from places like Blackpool and Rochdale visit in the football season," he said, adding: "They watch the lunchtime match in pubs, have a few bevvies, then watch the 4.30pm match, and have some more bevvies until they fall down."

His partner Julie added: “There are piles of sick and empty beer glasses left on the street.

"Some neighbours go away at weekends because of the noise."

Another resident who did not want to be identified, said: "There are crowds of women screeching. Women wearing plastic penises on their heads are roaming around during the day."

Licensee Matt Monk, who runs Whalley Wine Shop on King Street and a neighbouring wine bar, said: "I completely understand people’s concerns about Whalley and we try to be a sympathetic business.

"We also have to remember that Whalley is smaller than Clitheroe or Blackburn. Whalley can only hold so many licensed premises. Most businesses are pretty observant of licensing conditions and welcome well-behaved customers."

Tom and Edd Marsh, who run The Salvage House on Back King Street, added: "The elephant in the room in the discussion about Whalley is the huge rise in housing.

"It has a small village nucleus and a hugely-swelled population that creates pressure for local venues. Licensees then take the blame when it’s clearly a demographic and planning problem."

A Lancashire Police spokesperson said: "The licensed premises in Whalley are one of our neighbourhood policing priorities. We are working with Ribble Valley Council, residents of the area and licensed premises to find a solution to the issues raised."

Update - 3 July 2024: This article has been amended to include the precise number of licensed premises in Whalley. We have also provided more clarity and context to the concerns expressed by some residents.

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