ADVERTS encouraging people to vote in the forthcoming elections emphasise how a night on the tiles is affected by councillors.

From deciding how long bars can serve alcohol to how loud nightclubs can play music, the role of the city council is crucial, as the Electoral Commission points out.

With a new Licensing Act coming into force in 2005, that role will be bolstered further as councillors take over from magistrates in issuing all entertainment licences.

And the political parties are aware of how important the new powers will be in shaping the city's "night-time economy" and easing worries over rowdy revellers and 24-hour liquor licences.

"One of the great advantages of the Act is that local people living and working in Worcester will be making the decisions," said Labour councillor Paul Denham who currently sits on the licensing committee.

"I'm a magistrate and a councillor so can see it from both sides. The court has magistrates from across a vast area who might not know Worcester at all.

Opportunity

"This gives us an opportunity to try and get a better balance between the needs of the younger people - who have every right to enjoy themselves into the early hours - and the older people who might want to come into Worcester and enjoy a quiet drink."

Deputy council leader, Conservative Simon Geraghty, said a consultation on the licensing regime could include promoting the High Street as a late-night attraction.

"We'd like to widen the night-time economy to include the non -nightclubbing generation to extend the city's tourism appeal," he said.

Attraction

"People are saying if you want to provide a more continental appeal why leave the High Street idle after spending so much on its improvement?

"Angel Street and New Street are the major hubs of attraction.

"Should we just have two sites of night time activity or spread things over a disparate area - would that help or hinder?"

Liberal Democrat group leader, Coun Sue Askin, said she welcomed the devolution of licensing to local authorities, "not least because it offers the opportunity of tackling the littering and flyposting associated with some bars".

"Worcester Liberal Democrats note that there is a tension between the idea of 24-hour opening, and the Government's concerns about binge drinking," she added.