Central Bedfordshire Council news and press releases

Honours even in battle of the bars

Tuesday, 17 September 2019

More than 2000 took part in a public vote for their favourite licensed venues of 2019 across Leighton-Linslade to discover who had been crowned ‘Best Bar None’.

The Picture House and the Lancer - joint overall winners

There were 14 accredited venues in the running this year, with the winners announced at an award ceremony at Dunstable’s Creasey Park football club on Monday evening (16 September).

The Picture House and The Lancer emerged as joint overall winners with The Swan Hotel runner-up on points and Ollie Vees runner-up in the People’s Vote. The Picture House was the people's choice.

This was the fifth Best Bar None scheme award evening in Central Bedfordshire, part of a wider national government and drinks industry initiative to promote responsible management and operation of alcohol-licensed premises.

The aim is to encourage pubs, clubs and leisure venues to be safe and welcoming places for visitors. Participating local pubs, bars and clubs submit themselves to assessment procedures to meet the specific standards required by the scheme.

Councillor Ian Dalgarno, our Executive Member for Community Services, said:

This award scheme goes from strength to strength with the numbers taking part in the public vote nearly doubling this year.

It is a great pleasure to reward the winning venues as they truly are the best of the best. The Best Bar None venues continue to drive positive change in our communities and are a guarantee of a safe, well-run social space for their customers.

Congratulations to all of our finalists for their commitment to excellence in achieving accreditation under the scheme and who have demonstrated that public safety and customer care are their top priority.

Regardless of your choice, customers can have confidence when visiting any of the accredited premises bearing the Best Bar None logo. They’ll be reassured that the venues have undergone a rigorous assessment to demonstrate that they are consistently meeting high standards.

But the highest praise has to go to the category winners who have demonstrated the ability to go that extra mile.