Wolverhampton pub forced to close over ‘persistent breaches’ applies for new licence
A pub that was forced to close by a council after ‘persistently breaching’ the conditions of its licence has applied for a new one.
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The Rocket Pools Inn in Bradley was stripped of its licence by City of Wolverhampton Council in March after allowing alcohol to be served without a nominated supervisor and for failing to keep CCTV records.
The former owners of the Rocket Pool Drive pub were accused of “persistently” breaching their licence conditions after the council found footage of a late-night lock-in.
After chasing the CCTV footage, the council was eventually shown videos from a weekend in late November. These showed a lock-in at around 3.40am with ‘several’ people sitting and drinking. After a copy of the video had been requested, the owner told Wolverhampton Council two days later that it had been stolen in a break-in.
The pub, in Rocket Pool Drive, also did not have a fire risk assessment.
The Bradley pub remains closed but is currently being refurbished and has applied for a new alcohol licence.
The licence application by Simon Pailing to City of Wolverhampton Council asks for permission to sell alcohol as well as play live and recorded music between 10am and midnight every day.
The hearing in March, where the pub’s licence was revoked, heard how Juggi Sunar, who ran the pub for 20 years, had died suddenly on January 7, with the ownership handed to Kiran Sunar and son Shaun.
Both asked the council for a “clean slate” having been left “appalled” by how the pub had been run but despite their pleas, the pub’s licence was revoked.
Kiran Sunar, who was legally separated from Mr Sunar, told the hearing she was “appalled” by how the business had been run, found the licence review “deeply concerning”, and was prepared to “do whatever she could to make the pub a success.”
Juggi’s son Shaun Sunar added that he was willing to “step up” as the new licence holder and “not follow the path of the last management.”
Rob Edge, representing the Sunars at the hearing, said the mother and son were “aiming to transform the business into a family-friendly pub focused on good food rather than a venue driven by vertical drinking.”
Explaining the council’s decision to revoke the licence, the authority’s solicitor Ronald Sempebwa said the pub’s licence holder had shown “repeated disregard for public safety.”
He said the appearance of the proposed new licence holder Shaun Sunar at the hearing did “little to instil any confidence that there will be the necessary changes.”
