MORE than a dozen hotels and guest houses across York are calling time on alcoholic drinks for guests as the cost of a licence soars.

Under the new licensing system, owners who previously needed only a justices licence costing about £30 a year will need new premises licences costing up to £650 a year, as well as a personal licence costing another £37.50.

Some are deciding that with limited demand from customers, they will not bother applying and will manage without.

Jim Anderton, owner of the Holgate Bridge Hotel, said: "It's gone. Finito. It was too much bother. There's too much paperwork, and the price was going up. We just doing B&B now, and everyone seems happy enough."

He said residents did not mind there was no longer any bar. In fact, many preferred it that there was not one. "If people want a drink, they can go out to a pub," he added.

Nigel Collier, owner of the Palm Court Hotel, in Huntington Road, said he would almost certainly not be paying the increased fee for renewing his licence.

He said the hotel, which formerly served wine or beer with evening meals, had already switched to simple bed and breakfast as guests wanted to eat out more and more.

"There's been more competition as York has become a more cosmopolitan city, with all these trendy wine bars," he said.

But Keith Wood, of Ascot House, a 15-bedroom guest house, said he had still decided to obtain the new licence and personal licences, despite the higher costs.

He said guests sometimes liked to have a drink before they went out or after they had come in, and he had wanted to maintain the facility.

John Lacy, acting head of licensing at City of York Council, said about 16 guesthouses, B&Bs and small hotels across the city were not replacing their licences.

He said one factor was the cost, which had gone up from a basic £30 a year for a justices licence to between £100 and £650 for a premises licence, depending on the property's rateable value.

But he said other factors, such as the changing habits of guests, were also important.

He said the increased fees, which had been introduced by the Government rather than the council, reflected the true costs of running the licensing system.

Two more late licences have been approved by City of York Council licensing committees.

The Melbourne, in Cemetery Road, was given permission to serve alcohol until midnight, seven days a week, despite objections from two local residents, and Huntington Working Men's Club was given the go-ahead to serve until 11pm from Monday to Thursday, until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and until 10.30pm on Sundays, despite five objections.

Another application, by Flares, in Tanner Row, to serve alcohol until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, and until 2am from Sunday to Thursday, was adjourned until September.

Updated: 10:35 Thursday, July 28, 2005