A pint of your finest

(Date of issue: Wednesday 20 May 2009)

The results of the second annual Carlisle and Eden District Best Bar None awards were announced last night at a glitzy awards ceremony held at Carlisle Racecourse. On Tuesday night 200 people eagerly waited to find out who had won the top prize for each area, and during the evening raising several thousand pounds for CFM Radio’s charity Cash for Kids.

The accreditation and awards scheme focuses on safety and customer care is designed to help raise standards in the licensed trade. Originally started in Manchester in 2000 the Best Bar None scheme has gone from strength to strength, with approximately 80 areas now running the scheme. The Carlisle and Eden scheme has been a great success in its two years, the intention is to continue to build on this and roll the scheme out to more venues across both districts during 2009/10.

The Best Bar None Scheme was introduced in May 2008 by the Carlisle and Eden Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) working with the Late Night Entertainment Industry to establish a standard of excellence within the pubs, clubs and bars in both areas:

The aims of the scheme are:

• To reduce the incidents of crime and disorder associated with the consumption of alcohol
• To promote Carlisle and Penrith as a safe and professional environment in which to live, work, visit and socialise
• To identify and reward responsible licensed premises
• To share good practice with other in order to raise standards

Time has now been called and the panel of judges went through the entries and the winners for the CFM People’s Choice Award and the Best Pub, Best Bar and Best club are as follows:

With the overall winner of Best Bar None for the Carlisle area The Hourglass - and the overall winner of Best Bar None for the Eden area The Warehouse.

Gordon McGregor from Carlisle’s Hourglass said:

‘‘Winning this award means everything to me, I didn’t expect it. I couldn’t have done this without the support and hard work of all of my staff. It’s nice to be recognised for the all the hard work we put into running the place.’’

Mark Bowman from Penrith’s Warehouse said:

“As a family run business we are over the moon to win this award, which is recognition of the hard work and dedication of our very loyal team of staff. I would like to thank the local licensing team particularly John Bell and also Erich Thoele from Cumbria Police for their advice and support. We really worked hard to become the best licensed premises in Eden.’’

Accrediation Group 2009 - see below

Overall Carlisle Winners - The Hourglass - see below

Overall Eden Winners - The Warehouse - see below

Leader of Carlisle City Council Cllr Mike Mitchelson said:

“I am delighted with the response of local licensees to the Best Bar None Awards Scheme. Congratulations to the Best Bar None overall winner for Carlisle and District. This scheme encourages licensees to act responsibly and take pride in their premises and surroundings and, in doing so, put something back into their town / city and local community.

‘’The effort of all of the participants is highly commendable bringing lots of rewards for licensees including, the prestige of being part of the awards scheme, increased business in the area and lower insurance premiums resulting from the fact that they are running safer establishments. However the biggest winners of the Awards Scheme are local people and visitors, who benefit from a more welcoming, attractive, lively and above all safe place to visit.’’

Eden District Council Chairman Malcolm Smith said:

‘’The Best Bar None Awards demonstrate that Eden and Carlisle are serious about ensuring the night time economy in both areas flourishes, by offering locals and visitors the highest possible standards in our licensed premises. The awards ceremony was a fantastic occasion and all credit goes to the licensees in achieving their accreditations and awards. This is a great example of partnership working, among police and local authorities to raise standards and improve community safety.’’

For more information about the Best Bar None Scheme contact Carlisle City Council’s Licensing Department on tel: (01228) 817523 or email: licensing@carlisle.gov.uk   or Eden District Council on tel: 01768 817817 or email admin.licensing@eden.gov.uk

For further information please see related link:

• Best Bar None