Report of Meeting at Bradford Moor Conservative Club, 6th December 2006
This meeting was attended by 25 delegates from Conservative Clubs in the Yorkshire Region. Presentations were given by Tim Cooper-Cocks from Smoking Canopy Ltd, and Philip Towndrow of Environmental Technology Ltd. The main theme of the meeting was Preparing for the effect of Anti-Smoking Regulations which come into effect in England on the 1st July 2007.
Notes on the presentation by Tim Cooper-Cocks, Smoking Canopy Ltd
Clubs need to prepare for the introduction of the Ban on Smoking in Public Places. If a club's committee chooses to bury its collective head in the sand, hoping that it won't happen or just decide to do nothing it will probably lose trade and possibly viablitiy of the club. Clubs need to assess the number of smokers thay have amongst their membership to gauge what impact the ban will have on clubs. Unfortunately private members' clubs are regarded as public places under the regulations - rooms set aside for smokers are not permitted since any room with more than 50 per cent walled area is regarded as an enclosed space where smoking is not permitted.
A survey of the effects in Scotland showed that 46% of smokers stopped going to pubs where nothing had been done. Options are to find ways of compensating for the loss of trade by activities which create added attractions such as the provision of food, other entertainment, or consider providing some kind of shelter against the elements for die-hard smokers. The priorities for smokers were: shelter and heating; proximity of the sheltered location to the bar; and a clean area. Smoking Canopy Ltd provided a range of constructions which would meet the regulations. Typically a square area of 2 metres by 2 metres would cost £1600 for the uprights and roofing including the heating elements plus a further £300 for each side wall. The materials are treated to be fire resistant, thesupports are either in wood or metal. Heating costs work out at about 10p/hour. Lighting would be an extra cost. An interesting fact is that if the canopy is detached from a permanent wall of the club by a fixed amount (4 inches?) then the canopy itself can have 2 walls. It was stated that planning permission should not be required as long as the canopy is not in a conservation area or affixed to a listed building.
Other points: Health & Safety Regulations may require the use of plastic glasses in an outdoor area. Furniture up the value of £500 in an outside area would normally be covered by the club's insurance. It was recognised that not all clubs have a site which is suitable for the erection of a smoking canopy.
Notes on the presentation by Philip Towndrow, Environmental Technology Ltd
After the smoking ban comes into force, the absence of tobacco smoke will probably reveal other unpleasant odours which are normally masked by the odour of tobacco. These are the result of human sweat, stale beer, and the shedding of skin. Your normal air filters for suppression of cigarette smoke don't normally catch these other air-born pollutants which can also be the cause of allergenic reactions and air-born bacterial infections. Current smoke filters can usually be replaced by carbon-based filters which remove odours and air-born pollutants. Environmental Technology offer a free survey of exiting air filters in your club and advise you on whether or not they can be replaced by carbon filters. These replacements usually cost around £30 per replacement filter. It was also mentioned that after the introduction of the smoking ban would be an opportune time for the cleaning of carpets and furnishings to remove latent odours.
Philip also introduced the subject of warm air heating which is more energy efficient than conventional central heating systems as it warms rooms up much quicker than conventional systems. It was estimated that warm air heating could be 40 to 60% cheaper than conventional central heating, which could be an important consideration in this time of high energy prices. Additionally, warm air heating can remove the need for separate air filters, as the warm air heating system includes biological filtering.