THE benefits of a 24-hour Oxford are tremendous, according to city centre manager Marcus Lapthorn - the man responsible for making the city a better place to live and work.

"The ideal image is a city where there are people in the streets until the early hours of the morning. The more people there are the safer it is. It also creates a vibrant city centre which is good for business."

But is it really happening? And if it is, are we all happy about it?

Most people associate Oxford's burgeoning nightlife with George Street - the subject of a conscious drive in recent years to allow more licensed premises.

That move was seemingly vindicated this week when Oxford police chief, Supt Cressida Dick, said her fears of a major rise in violence following the increase in nightspots had failed to materialise.

But now that George Street is all but full with bars and restaurants, planners are resisting its expansion into nearby Park End Street and Hythe Bridge Street.

A major entertainment chain is currently appealing against a city council decision to reject plans for a Chicago Rock Cafe in Park End Street.

Some pubs and nightclubs have won entertainment licences beyond midnight, but many others have been refused and 'chucking out' time is still widely perceived to be 11pm.

The latest anyone can dance the night away in the city is the Park End club in Park End Street.

It is allowed to open until 4am six times a year - but invariably closes at 2am like other most other Oxford clubs. "Oxford is just like any other town in Britain really - though it is notoriously difficult to even get a 2am licence," says Park End manager James Hawkins.

"That is why there are so few night clubs for a city its size. The council always takes strong consideration of the views of residents and the colleges and parking problems.

"We find there is little point in staying open beyond 2am anyway because everyone aims to drink until 2am. People tend to leave or have run out of money at that time anyway."

Jericho's Little Clarendon Street, with its French cafes and restaurants, is widely regarded as the closest thing Oxford has to the continental 'cafe culture' so sought after by 24-hour city enthusiasts.

But in the city centre only the corporately-owned McDonalds in Cornmarket Street and the Haagen Dazs cafe in George Street are in a similar vein and stay open beyond midnight.

To most people a meal in the early hours still means a trip to a kebab van or a late night curry.

In fact, the only truly 24-hour amenities the city has to offer are the Sainsbury's supermarket in Kidlington, which opens all night on Friday's, a few petrol stations and off-licences, five major bus routes, and all night coaches to London - which many people use to actually escape the restricted opening hours in Oxford.

"I am all for a vibrant city centre, but we need to appreciate that we also have people who live in there," says Maureen Christian, chairman of Oxford City Council's planning committee.

"If we go too far, the people will move out and the city centre will be worse for it."

Mr Hawkins adds: "It will take a change in the whole culture of the town before Oxford becomes a 24-hour city."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.