Salisbury licensee wins case against licensing policy

A landlord in Salisbury has won a case against his local authority licensing policy.

Joe Duthie, licensee at the Benett Arms in Semley, Salisbury, has successfully won an appeal for a 24-hour licence on his pub.

His local authority currently contains a presumption against all-day opening in its licensing policy.

The application to keep his pub open during sporting events such as the upcoming Ashes series in Australia and the Beijing Olympics in 2008 was rejected.

However, on appeal at Salisbury Magistrates the judge agreed that representations put forward by the police were wrongly relied on by the local authority.

The landlord would have been forced to apply for a temporary licence which can only last for four days, which could have meant the closure of the pub on the last day of the test match.

Mr Duthie said: "I do not intend to open the Benett Arms all day, every day but am pleased that I can now do this when my customers would like it. I will be working closely with the Parish Council to ensure that the pub is viewed as an integral part of the village."

The lawyer representing Mr Duthie Ben Thornton, a solicitor from Wilsons Solicitors, Sailsbury, said: "This decision should ensure that all councils are more vigilant in dealing with objections to licensing applications.

"Its is a welcome clarification on the new regime."

Salisbury District Council said this would not be the end of this case and that they would appeal the decision.

m Cllr Bill Moss, chairman of Salisbury District Council Licensing Committee said: "This application was subject to an objection by the local police. Given this objection, and our stated policy, the Licensing Committee refused the licence.

"I think we have sound case on which to appeal and feel that this would provide greater clarity when considering future applications."