Posted by 
The former manager of a troubled micropub could be legally banned from entering its bar – despite living above it.
Ray Woods has been in charge of Tulketh Tap Room since it opened but it was recently moved into new ownership amid the threat of the bar losing its licence at the request of Lancashire Constabulary.
However, he has agreed to step away from its running and could find himself not allowed to step foot back inside under the terms of the last ditch bid to keep it open which would also see it renamed Rum Jack’s Irish Bar.
Read more: New service station named after closed pub opens on road connecting A583 and M55
Preston City Council’s licensing subcommittee met on Wednesday (10 July) to discuss an application from Lancashire Constabulary to review the bar’s licence. Ahead of the meeting, both licensing officer PC Ste Connolly and Preston City Council’s senior licensing technician Liz Wallace-Mills had recommended the licence should be revoked.
PC Connolly was first to speak at the meeting and over an hour long presentation, he detailed numerous licence breaches and other incidents which had sparked a police response at the venue.
One of these took place in an alley next to the property on May 5 and involved a man being left unconscious and with a jaw fractured in two places. While the bar had used its social media to distance itself from any involvement, this was disputed by the police officer.
He showed CCTV footage from the bar of a group leaving the premises that night. According to PC Connolly, just four minutes passed between the group leaving and a response officer being alerted to the injured man. He added that the injured party was among the group, as is another man being investigated in relation to his injury.
As well as loud music being played in breach of the licensing conditions and a complete lack of required paperwork, a commonly raised issue was the lack of adequate CCTV provision
The unusual setup of the building meant that the CCTV system was only accessible through the private accommodation above the bar, while it was also only operating on a motion-sensor basis meaning that 10 minute periods went unrecorded.
Concern was also raised over the ownership and management of the bar during its troubled time. According to PC Connolly, there is consideration that Mr Woods, who has been running the bar since it opened, could be reported to the Insolvency Service for acting as a shadow director.
Mr Woods was previously banned from serving as a director for his involvement in another business and, according to the officer, the sole director of the company which has been responsible for the bar had no idea he was still linked to it.
On this point, Ms Wallace-Mills said: “To me that just indicates Mr Woods was in charge of the premises and used Mr Magee as a name only.”
Various submissions had been made by neighbours making claims of anti-social behaviour, drug use and drug dealing within the bar. One of those who responded also submitted a video clip allegedly showing a recording of the bar’s CCTV footage of a man being glassed outside the bar.
The submitter, who did not wish to be named for “fear of reprisals”, said the clip had been provided to the person who carried out the offence and in the clip, a man can be heard to say: “Do not send that to anybody.”
Mike Thorpe, of MRT Licensing Services, spoke in defence of the licence at the hearing and said that Mr Woods would not have any involvement in its future.
He said: “I had hoped that a change in ownership would lead to the police revising their recommendation and shortening the time spent here but that’s not been the case. That’s because we need to convince you that it has changed.”
Mr Thorpe continued to say he “cannot deny that Mr Woods has on several occasions breached the licence” but argued that his replacement Nicki Kirby should not be judged on that, adding that Mr Woods’ involvement was now limited to a 35% ownership of the company which would be reduced over time.
Mr Kirby explained he had never had any involvement in the bar previously but became interested in turning it around after finding out it had closed in May, when the landlord temporarily seized the property due to unpaid rent.
Having spent the last eight years working as a landscape gardener, he said he wanted a change and plans to transform the venue into an Irish bar.
He said: “The aim is to bring in a different clientele. The aim is to shut it for two weeks, to strip down, decorate and refurb the whole place.” Those plans include adding a conservatory outside to mitigate noise pollution for neighbours.
The father-of-five said he plans to run it as a family business, with the bar named after his son Jack, his partner designing the artwork and his daughter working behind the bar.
Among the efforts to convince the subcommittee not to revoke the licence, Mr Thorpe suggested a range of conditions which included banning Mr Woods from entering the bar. Mr Kirby agreed to this, saying he had no intention of working alongside the former manager.
The hearing was adjourned to allow the licence holder to provide evidence that Mr Woods will have no involvement with the premises going forward. A new date could not yet be set as the hearing finished too late in the day.
Among the factors complicating the decision making were pending applications to change the designated premises supervisor and licence holder which had apparently been submitted before Mr Kirby committed to becoming involved and without his knowledge.
Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
