Police fail in bid to call time on troubled public house
PREMISES KEEPS ITS LICENCE DESPITE CONCERNS
A WALLSEND pub which police wanted to lose its licence has avoided being shut down.
Nothumbria Police said The Barking Dog was out of control after a string of incidents.
In a report submitted to North Tyneside Council, the force claimed alcohol is openly sold to children with the youngsters allowed to sit in the venue’s concert room to drink it.
The report, which asked the council to review the premises licence, made a string of allegations.
They included:
■ On October 26, 2018, a “vicious assault” happened during a lockin which left a man with his jaw broken in two places. Seven people were allegedly involved in the fracas shortly before 3am.
■ On March 17, 2019, several revellers were injured following a fight at an 18th birthday party which left “blood on the floor of the bar area and in the men’s toilet.”
■ Reports of repeated lock-ins. The director of PJK Ltd, which owns the pub, said the managers who were in charge at the time of those incidents no longer work at the pub.
Alan Milne said his company has owned the bar for 25 years and for 23 years it had been run by the same manager, who died following a three-year battle with cancer.
He said: “The majority of that time, the first 20 or 21 years, I don’t think the police knew the premises were there.
“Unfortunately he (the manager) got cancer which turned out to be terminal.
“The last three years of his life, looking at the police statements and background stuff, had not gone too well.”
Mr Milne told the committee another manager who worked at the pub during the troubled period also no longer works at the bar.
He said he and co-director Charles Robinson did not get directly involved in running the business until August 2019.
Now he says he regularly drinks at the bar and works weekends to make sure there is no trouble.
Mr Milne added: “I sat down in August and started getting involved in the premises because it was losing money.
“I wanted to see what was going on there, I could see there were issues.
“I put practices in place which can only improve it.
“We have had staff training. I am on the staff’s case about different things and I try to move people out who I don’t want in the premises.”
Mr Milne also vowed lock-ins would not happen in the future, saying they are a “recipe for disaster.”
He went on: “I have warned the staff. If I am not there and somebody else is locking up, if they are there later than they should be then they will be dismissed.”
He has also put in place a strict ‘challenge 25’ policy with those thought to be underage told to leave the pub.
Despite the changes, police solicitor Helen Thompson said the pub should be shut down to set an example to other venues in the area.
She said: “This has been a premises which has been found to be trading irresponsibly and tough action should be taken to show this is not acceptable and should not continue. Matthew Foster, a solicitor representing PJK Ltd, said revoking the licence would be unfair after the improvements made to the premises.
He said: “To revoke this premises license goes against the trend of improvement demonstrated by the lack of incidents since Mr Milne and Mr Robinson have taken over the premises.
“The reality is this is a muchloved and much-liked and now better-run premises.
“The longer we are able to operate this the more clear that is going to be.”
The committee decided not to revoke the licence but the pub, on Kings Road North, will have to comply with a range of new conditions including earlier closing times.
I could see there were issues. I put practices in place which can only improve it
PJK Ltd’s Alan Milne