Admiral Taverns pub to restore reputation after licence suspended

28-Feb-2020 - Last updated on 28-Feb-2020 at 16:52 GMT

Moving on: the Royal Oak lost its licence after it failed to control and reduce crime and disorder and public nuisance

An Admiral Taverns pub hopes to get its ‘great community hub’ back on the right track around after its licence was suspended over complaints of disorder, antisocial behaviour and drug use on the premises.

Since May 2019, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council’s regulatory services department has received four complaints from members of the public about the Royal Oak in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, Manchester.

The police took steps to work with both the designated premises supervisor (DPS) and representatives of Admiral Taverns in an attempt to prevent and reduce the risk of further incidents occurring.

However, despite these preventative measures in place, events of crime and disorder and public nuisance continued to arise.

As a result, the police and licensing department had “lost faith” in the ability of the DPS to effectively manage the premises and promote the licensing objectives.

A Tameside council spokesperson said: “Criminal and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated in Tameside and action will be taken where licensing conditions are breached.”

Non-compliance

Correspondingly, a review of the premises licence at the pub was undertaken at a Speakers Panel (Liquor Licensing) meeting on 25 February.

The panel has agreed to suspend the licence for one month and to reduce the hours for licensable activities from 12noon until 12midnight, and 12.30am on Friday and Saturday nights.

It also agreed door staff must be present at the premises from 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights, the installation of CCTV in the beer garden, and to prohibit drinks to be taken out of the front door of the premises.

The council spokesperson continued: “This followed an application from Greater Manchester Police over non-compliance with the licence following complaints of disorder, antisocial behaviour and drug use on the premises.”

Turn it around

However, Admiral Taverns has assured the public and its customers that it aims to move on from its chequered past.

An Admiral Taverns spokesperson said: “We were disappointed to hear of the decision made at Tuesday’s hearing, especially following some significant improvements that have already been made to the pub.

“Throughout the process we have been working closely with the authorities and will continue to do so until the situation is resolved.

“At Admiral, we strongly believe in running sustainable pubs in our communities and we see great potential at the Royal Oak to take the pub forward and return it to a great community hub.”