Smoking ban 'will cost businesses thousands'

4:05pm Sunday 24th June 2007

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BUSINESSES could face escalating costs as a result of the smoking ban that starts on July 1.

In particular, the pub trade is set to be hit hard as many landlords who have not already done so face the prospect of putting up smoking shelters or having to pay fines for not complying with legislation.

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The warning comes from Blackburn-based law firm Napthens, which believes that on average pubs can expect to spend £10,000 on preparing for the ban while there are going to be cost implications for other businesses.

There are more than 730 pubs, restaurants and hotels in Blackburn, Hyndburn, Darwen and the Ribble Valley that will need to get ready for the ban or they could be hit with fines of hundreds, or even thousands of pounds.

However, Chamber of Trade chiefs have hit out at the claims and said that businesses in the area have been given plenty or warning time to get ready for the change in law.

Naomi Holt, a licensing expert at Napthens, said: "There are many costs that businesses will have to look at, from the legal costs of preparing for the ban to the possibility of having to build exterior shelters to cater for smokers.

"The regulations state that smoking will no longer be permitted inside any public building or work place or, in any structure that consists of a roof and walls which are less than 50 per cent permanently open, even if the structure is outside.

"The few exemptions to the smoking ban are hotels, inns and guesthouses. These premises will be able to designate individual bedrooms as smoking bedrooms but they must be identified on a plan which is available for inspection at any time by the enforcement authorities. All public areas of hotels including lobbies, corridors and stairwells must remain smoke free.

"However, in a pub, bar or restaurant it is simply a case of saying no smoking' and displaying the appropriate signage."

Coun David Cottam, president of Blackburn and District Chamber of trade, said: "I don't go along with the businesses incurring penalties because everyone should have been sent a no smoking pack from the government.

"There could initally be a knock-on affect because of the ban with people not going into pubs but trade will recover when people want a pint."