Last-minute deal saves Wolverhampton pub's licence after Covid breaches
A last ditch deal has saved a Wolverhampton pub accused of a number of Covid breaches from being stripped of its licence.
Members of Wolverhampton Council’s licensing sub committee were due to review the premises licence of Rocket Pool Inn on Rocket Pool Drive in Bradley on July 6.
But environmental health officers, who called for the review, said representatives of the venue have put forward a string of conditions to prevent the need for the hearing.
This includes ensuring previous premises licence holder (PLH) Harkirat Kaur Sunar and husband Jugjit Singh will have no involvement with the operation nor management of the business, installing a fully operational CCTV system, introducing a Challenge 25 policy, staff training and undertaking fire risk assessments.
Evidence submitted to the committee said there had been a number of Covid breaches in August and December 2020 and again in April this year.
Offences included overcrowding, failure to wear face masks, customers standing while drinking, more than six people at a table and a failure to implement a number of prevention control measures.
Prior to the new agreement, there had been calls to revoke the premises licence in light of these incidents.
Charlotte Rose, the authority’s Covid business compliance lead, said: “The representative for the licensed premises made contact to discuss what could be done to negate the need for a hearing while addressing the issues that caused the review to be brought.
“After careful and extensive mediation it was agreed that the current PLH holder and DPS are to be removed from the licence.
“It was furthermore agreed that an amended operating schedule be appended to the existing premises licence.”
She added an application to transfer the PLH has been submitted and is going through the process.
The committee decided to the removal of the PLH and to modify the conditions of the Rocket Pool Inn’s licence.
