Licensee blasts council over pub closure
A furious licensee has blasted his local council after it threatened his pub with a £20,000 fine if it failed to close over the busy bank holiday weekend.
Doncaster Council officials, who visited the Roman Ridge in Scawsby at 9pm on Saturday May 26, are alleged to have threatened licensee Pete Smith's pub manager with the fine or up to 10 years in prison if he did not close immediately.
They claimed it was because of an inaccuracy on the premises licence.
However, the licensee says he applied to change the name on the licence last October, and was still waiting to receive a new copy from the council with his name on.
He claims he lost £700 in takings and was forced to cancel bank holiday events because of the closure.
Mr Smith said: "I'm very, very angry with the council. They had no grounds to close us down. It was very embarrassing for my staff having to ask customers to leave on a Saturday night. I'm now seeking legal advice."
David Sissons, chairman of Doncaster Licensed Victuallers' Association, described the incident as "completely overboard". He added that late-night visits by council officials are a common occurrence in the area.
Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, is writing a letter of complaint to Doncaster Council and sending a copy to the MP for Doncaster Central, Rosie Winterton, over Mr Smith's treatment.
"I think it's disgusting the way they are treating licensees in Doncaster, hassling them at 10 o'clock at night when they are busy with customers," he said. "They didn't have the authority to close the pub. He'd paid for a new premises licence but hadn't received it."
Lee Le Clercq, regional secretary of the British Beer & Pub Association North of England, added: "It was an unwise way to handle a simple administrative issue, which could have turned into a crisis".
However, the council claims that Mr Smith decided to close the pub himself.
Jane Miller, Doncaster council community director for safer, stronger and sustainable communities, said: "Council officers visited the Roman Ridge pub in Scawsby on Saturday evening and informed barstaff that it was in breach of licensing laws.
"The landlord made the decision to temporarily close the pub."
