£50k pub sign fine for landlord cut after appeal
BAR BOSS PROVES COUNCIL MISTAKE IN COURT
A LANDLORD who was hit with a staggering £50,000 fine has had it slashed after appealing the shock decision.
Gateshead Council took the owners of the Whickham House to court over a sign on the side of the pub advertising cheap pints and karaoke.
The sign was put up without planning permission and a court order in February 2018 ordered the sign be taken down.
Landlord Mark Garry, director of the G Leisure group, was taken to court again in January 2019 for not complying with the order and slapped with a £50,750 fine.
But he says he never received the letters from the council and took the sign down in September 2018, as soon as he found out about the breach.
He appealed the eye-watering decision and has had the fine reduced to around £5,000 at a hearing at Gateshead Magistrates’ Court.
Mr Garry said: “The council were overzealous and I proved my side of the story very quickly.
“All we did was replace a sign that had been there for years but, thankfully, the court took a common sense approach to the appeal.
“We didn’t have planning permission to do it and I fully accept that ... but we proved we hadn’t been getting the council’s letters because they weren’t being sent to the right place.
“The council has had a hard job, especially with the funding cuts from Government over the years, but I feel like I was just an easy target.”
Regulars at the pub who were faced with the prospect of it shutting down will be relieved.
Punters even started fundraising to help the pay the fine.
Mr Garry said: “I couldn’t be more thankful for the locals at the pub.
“They raised £4,000 towards contributing to the fine and I’m over the moon the pub will be able to stay open as normal I’m planning on giving something back too, we’re looking at refurbishment plans for it.
“It’s been a very painful process but I’m very grateful to the community for their support.”
Gateshead Council declined to comment.