Licensee gets order wrong at cost of £20,000
An Essex licensee has blasted his local council after being told to fit double-glazing as a licensing condition and then told to rip it out because his pub is in a conservation area.
Barry Long, licensee of the Rose and Crown in Chelmsford, says he has lost the £20,000 he paid for the new windows after one council department told him to fit them and another ordered he have them removed.
They even threatened him with jail and a £20,000 fine if he dared to leave them in.
I was only trying to do the right thing. Barry Long, licensee, Rose and Crown, Writtle.
Long's problems began 18months ago when he took on the Writtle pub and saw the previous licensee had two discos booked for the room upstairs.
Seeking to be a good neighbour, Long asked the council to come out and tell him how loud the music could be before it became a problem.
Instead, they sent an officer who listened to the disco then issued Long with a noise abatement order.
He told MorningAdvertiser.co.uk: "I was only trying to do the right thing but when I went to get my new license last year they said because I had this order I would have to fit double-glazing and air-conditioning at a cost of £20,000 - just to get a license."
Long secured the money for the new windows but within hours of fitting the first two he received a visit from another council official.
This time he was told to put back the old windows.
He said: "I couldn't believe it. I knew some parts of the building were listed but not the pub itself but they said it is in the conservation area. Now I've got to put back the old windows - even though they are made of metal and were only fitted 30 years ago - and line them with Perspex to keep the noise in!"
A council spokesman said: "The licensing committee clearly stated that the exact details of the work had to be agreed with our environmental services department before being carried out.
"If the landlord had consulted the council we would have made him aware of our preference for the repair rather than replacement of windows."
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