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Tough rules allow pub to keep licence

30/ 4/2008

SHOCK CCTV footage of a 17-year-old girl being hit in the face with a bottle was shown to members of the borough’s licensing panel when a special session was held to decide the fate of the town centre Freemasons Arms.

The pub was closed down by police on Monday, 14 April after they had found the girl injured in the town centre and tracked a trail of blood along the pavements from a taxi rank to the Market Place premises.

Rochdale Magistrates’ licensing bench imposed an interim closure on the pub and the council’s licensing panel met on Monday afternoon to decide whether to permanently remove the licence.

After hearing evidence from the town’s police chief, Inspector Darrell Butterworth and solicitor Mr David Lucas, representing Chester-based pub chain Admiral Taverns, the panel decided the licence should pass from Dennis Wright, said to have now "voluntarily vacated the premises", to the pub company.

The transfer was on condition that the name of Diane Bardsley, who had a supervisory role at the pub, was also removed from the licence.

But the panel ruled that the Freemasons will only be allowed to re-open under a tough list of conditions, which have been drawn up by the police with the agreement of Admiral. Most important of those is that anyone intending to run the pub will first have to be approved by the police.

Licensing panel chairman, Councillor Brenda Kerslake told the pub company: "We are asking the police to keep a close eye on the premises. I have to say that I am very disappointed with Admiral because this is the second similar case in this borough we have had to deal with in the past six months and a portion of the blame must go to Admiral, who are the landlords."  She warned: "We shall be watching you."

Inspector Butterworth told the panel: "The committee has hit on the nub of the problem here. The licensee and the pub company, Admiral, have been weighing off their responsibilities on to each other.

"I would have asked for the licence to be revoked but I realise that a building like this, in such a prominent position, would bring down the whole of the town centre if it was unused and other uses it could be put to are limited. To leave it unused would be detrimental to a large part of the town centre."

Inspector Butterworth said the video recording, taken from the pub’s CCTV system — installed only last summer after previous incidents in the pub — showed several underage people drinking in the pub in the early hours of 14 April and a violent argument taking place. It showed a woman pick up a bottle from a table and strike another female with it.

Inspector Butterworth said a woman had been questioned but had not been charged because inquiries were continuing.

Mr Lucas said: "The Freemasons will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Admiral would not re-open without a major refurbishment of the premises."

He explained to the panel that problems had arisen because Admiral took over the pub from Enterprise Inns, but Mr Wright was already the tenant and licence holder. He said the premises had been for sale since January this year, but Admiral was prepared to invest in the premises if a suitable licensee, approved by the police, could be found.