Council to review Wolverhampton pub’s licence after owner claims CCTV footage stolen
A Wolverhampton pub will have its licence reviewed after the owner claimed CCTV footage of a 4am ‘lock-in’ was stolen, two days after the council requested a copy.
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Wolverhampton Council is set to review the licence at the Rocket Pool Inn, Bradley, after it was found to have breached its licence by failing to provide CCTV footage and for not having a fire risk assessment.
The council said it saw footage of a 'lock-in', recorded at around 3.40am in late November last year when it was finally able to access the pub’s CCTV cameras, and when asked for a copy to be provided as soon as possible, was told two days later that it had been stolen during a break-in.
The pub’s current licence lists Balbir Duhra as the designated premises supervisor and Ravinder Singh Hill as the licence holder.
The council’s licensing subcommittee, which has the power to revoke the licence, meets in Wolverhampton on March 6.
The application to review the licence was supported by West Midlands Police.
The hearing follows initial concerns the pub was running without a designated supervisor as the one named on the licence had allegedly left the business.
The checks led to council officers finding that the pub did not have a fire risk assessment and could not provide CCTV for the previous month.
When the council was finally given access to the CCTV, officers found footage of a ‘lock-in’ in late November when the pub did not have a designated supervisor.
A request was made for a compliance check in November last year over the ownership of the Rocket Pool Inn, as the listed supervisor David Causer had allegedly left.
The pub was found to have breached two conditions of its licence following the inspection by Wolverhampton Council – in that it could not show CCTV footage for the previous 31 days and had no fire risk assessment.
The pub was given two weeks to rectify the issues and with four days to go, David Causer withdrew his consent with immediate effect and licence holder Ravinder Singh Gill was told the pub no longer had a designated premises supervisor (DPS) to authorise the sale of alcohol.
The council asked Mr Gill three days later whether the pub was still trading and was told it was closed for refurbishment until November 27 – with the proposed new supervisor Balbir Singh Durha currently undertaking a training course.
The application to change the licence followed a few days later.
The council visited again in early December to look at the pub’s CCTV and fire risk assessment, only to be told by a member of staff there was nobody available to access the CCTV – in another breach of its licence.
Later that month, the council was shown footage from a weekend in late November which showed a 'lock-in' at around 3.40am with ‘several’ people sitting and drinking.
The council requested a copy of the footage by the end of the following day but never received the video.
Mr Gill called the council two days later to tell them the pub had been broken into and the CCTV footage had been stolen.
