Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Pub’s bid for outdoor bar rejected
A pub landlord has had his bid for an outdoor bar rejected in the face of a number of complaints over noise and parking. Canterbury City Council’s licensing committee was also shown a video of Eddie Sargeant, from the Old Coach and Horses in Harbledown, swearing at neighbours. The committee denied Mr Sargeant’s application to open the outdoor bar within a burger shack after numerous concerns were raised about the effect it could have on the area. Mr Sargeant - who took over the pub last year - said his proposal would allow for ease of access for staff serving people in its renovated garden.
He told councillors his aim was to create a “heart of the village gastro pub”, summarising his intention was to push the appeal of the food rather than drink, and he would also look to host live music outside once a month. The outdoor area now boasts a new Ibiza-style lounge garden following a £50,000 lockdown makeover to transform it into fresh outdoor seating area. However, the committee was shown a video submitted in objection to the proposal showing Mr Sargeant swearing at neighbours who he had perceived to be sniggering at him on the day it was announced another lockdown would be happening and he would have to close the pub.
The video was muted for those watching the virtual meeting remotely, but Mr Sargeant could be seen getting up close and pointing to a man stood opposite the pub, and another person filming. Property landlord Roy Sanders told the committee his tenant, who lives in the village, had been involved in a confrontation with Mr Sargeant at 3am one morning over a complaint of noise. Addressing the video, Mr Sargeant said he was “not in the best of places in my mind or body”.
A dossier of incidents noted by residents since the pub reopened in January last year citing various issues was read out by resident Magdalene Mei Halkes.
These included residents not being able to park due to the lack of dedicated spaces for punters.
She also reported incidents of anti-social behaviour such as public urination, noise disturbance caused by taxis picking people up from the pub, and buses not being able to make their way through the surrounding roads due to the volume of parked cars.
Mr Sargeant was informed he could appeal the committee’s decision to deny the licence allowing for the outdoor bar if he wished.
As part of the application process, committee members had taken a site visit to the Church Hill establishment, and wanted to know why there was a newly-installed bar upstairs. Licensing officer Anton Walden quizzed Mr Sargeant about the bar, to which he admitted it had been used on one occasion to service customers in the gardens without an application being put in to vary his premises licence allowing for its use.
Although Mr Sargeant told the committee he wasn’t aware he required a new licence for the upstairs bar, Mr Walden said he would be making a referral to council enforcement officers who would investigate the matter.
He added that until it was removed, the sale of alcohol at the pub would be temporarily banned.
Mr Sargeant told the Gazette he removed the “pop-up” bar on the day of the licensing meeting so did not need to cease alcohol sales.
“There used to be a bar upstairs in the pub,” he said. “I made the presumption that it wouldn’t be a problem to put that pop-up bar there temporarily while we were closed inside. “[The licensing officer] told me I couldn’t do that and I took it down.”