Council orders five pubs in Whitby to shut for operating illegally
Scarborough Borough Council has ordered five pubs to close in and around Whitby after they were found to be operating illegally.
It said that under the Licensing Act 2003 the premises licences lapsed 21 days after the death of their owner, Martin Tucker, last December.
No application had been made by anyone to replace him and the pubs had therefore been operating illegally for most of this year.
The council’s licensing staff were unaware of Mr Tucker’s death until this month, at which point they told the pubs they no longer had valid licences to sell alcohol or put on licensed entertainment.
Environment and regulation manager Jonathan Bramley said: “We are absolutely staggered that this situation has been allowed to happen, which has left those affected facing uncertainty and potentially serious consequences.
“We have great sympathy for Mr Tucker’s family and we know the actions we have had to take will have serious consequences for the businesses concerned.”
Mr Bramley said the council had no powers to keep the pubs operating “because there is no legal mechanism available”.
He added: “We do not want to be seen as the bad guys, but to not act on the information we have received would be a breach of duty.”
The council has told Mr Tucker’s relatives that they would have to apply for new licences, since those previously held have lapsed.
Mr Bramley said: “While the council remains very concerned about the clear breaches of the law at each of the five pubs, its focus now will be on assisting Mr Tucker’s family to get the pubs fully operational as soon as possible.”
The council’s director Lisa Dixon said it would recommend to the licensing committee that it would not be in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings against Mr Tucker’s family or the operators of the pubs concerned due to their role as community hubs and their importance to local tourism.
North Yorkshire Police were satisfied with the council’s approach, she added.
Mark Smulian