Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Landlord given a final warning over problems at pub
An underfire landlord has been warned he will be banned from managing his pub if problems continue at the premises.
Shailesh Dixit, who runs The Local in Cockering Road, Chartham, was told at a licensing hearing on Tuesday he would be removed as the designated premises supervisor should any more issues occur.
It follows an incident on October 2, in which Canterbury City Council’s enforcement team made a visit to the pub after closing time, at 1.27am, and found people still inside drinking.
Despite claims by Mr Dixit that no money had changed hands and it was a private gathering following a charity event in the village hall, CCTV footage from the pub shows his son Trisham accepting money and payment by card.
The footage also shows Tri- sham writing entries in a book after drinks were served – something Mr Dixit insists was for stocktaking purposes.
The landlord was told at the hearing that unless he accepted his son had accepted cash for the drinks, the hearing would have to be adjourned and dealt with at a magistrates’ court.
Licensing lawyer Jerry Dillon, speaking on behalf of Mr Dixit, said the landlord “accepted his son took money” but that in the main, the customers were not being charged for drinks.
Mr Dillon also stated that Mr Dixit had panicked when being interviewed by the enforcement team on the night, which may have caused him to be evasive.
The landlord had initially denied he was operating outside of his licensing hours when challenged by the officers.
In the report discussed by the licensing committee, Mr Dixit was accused of “flagrantly” breaching his licensing conditions and “lying” in a bid to excuse those breaches.
Mr Dillon said: “When challenged he made a denial, but he had panicked.
“When people are interviewed by the police, for example, they often panic.”
Mr Dillon and the council’s enforcement team, which has dealt with a number of noise complaints from people living near the pub, put forward amendments to the licence conditions.
One of these includes noise limiters on amplification equipment – with the levels to be determined by the environmental health officer.
The hours are also being reduced by half-an-hour on Friday and Saturday nights.
The conditions were agreed, but legal adviser for the council Paul Tapsell warned Mr Dixit would face serious consequences if problems persist.
He said, if matters proceeded and allegations proven, the licensing team would revoke of his status as a designated premises supervisor.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Dixit, who was advised by his lawyer not to comment on the outcome of the hearing – said: “Since recent events I have had a discussion with my son about how our attitude needs to change.”
He decline to speak to the Gazette afterwards.
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