Tameside Council revoked the licence of the Lions Bar in Stalybridge in March because it claimed the venue was contributing to incidents of alcohol-related disorder, antisocial behaviour, violence and underage drinking in the town centre.
However, licensee Ian Whittaker successfully appealed against the decision last week after the hearing proceeded in his absence. Whittaker had sent the council a doctor’s note saying he was too ill to attend.
The appeal found that police had presented new evidence at the hearing without informing Whittaker, and the licence was revoked without the authorisation of a chief police officer, which is mandatory. Whittaker was awarded £7,100 for legal costs.
Greater Manchester Police applied for a review of the premises licence after Whittaker refused to introduce an age policy, restricting entry to the premises to people over 25 years only. Police then revised the condition to prevent entry to those under 21 after 7pm, but Whittaker declined again.
'Draconian' sanctions
Licensing solicitor Anthony Horne, acting for Whittaker, agreed the review was one of many cases showing heavy-handedness from police and local councils. “I’ve dealt with around 400 licensing reviews since 2005 and there have been far worse cases that have had sanctions far less Draconian,” he said.
“The police were trawling through archives to find evidence from 2010 which just wasn’t warranted and the review was not properly sanctioned. It was all sorted in an hour and a half.”
Whittaker added he had reported incidents of alcohol-related disorder and underage drinking to the police, and the licensing review was part of a wider move to “clean up the area” of Stalybridge.
“We have combated underage students coming into the pub as much as we can,” he said. “I reported a case to the police myself, but it seems me trying to be a good citizen turned into them revoking my licence.”
Age policy
Since appealing, Whittaker said he has approached the council with a view to bringing in an ‘over 21s only’ policy after 11pm but is yet to hear back.
A council spokesperson said: “The judge supported the council and police in taking action against the bar and said that there was clearly a problem, but owing to a technical issue could not find in our favour.”
Last week the PMA reported that pub trade consultant Michael Kheng won his case at the Independent Police Complaints Commission against Lincolnshire Police officers using damning language in a licence review application.