A Bramley pub has kept its licence following police concerns about violence and anti-social behaviour.
West Yorkshire Police were concerned about two unrelated serious incidents of grievous bodily harm in June and other complaints relating to anti-social behaviour at the Barley Mow pub.
One incident saw a 16-year-old boy suffer two fractures to the skull, a bleed to the brain and a displaced jaw as a result of a fight. The injuries resulted in him being admitted to hospital as an in-patient.
There was also a breach of Covid-19 regulations during lockdown.
As first reported by WLD last week, police had applied to officially review the licence of the Lower Town Street pub.
Members of Leeds City Council’s licensing committee first met behind closed doors on 22 July to originally suspended the pub’s licence to sell alcohol, pending the formal review.
A further hearing on Tuesday, 3 August saw members reinstate the licence, subject to a raft of licensing conditions being introduced, following representations from owner Kelly Shaw and agent Woods Whur.
The licence was reinstated subject to a further 12 licensing conditions being imposed. These included improved CCTV, two door supervisors operating from 8pm on Fridays and over the weekend, and a Challenge 25 policy being adopted.
Members of the licensing sub-committee today agreed that the pub could retain its licence, subject to the raft of conditions being put in place permanently.
David Parker, of West Yorkshire Police, told the meeting that they were now satisfied that the pub had stronger management procedures in place and said:
“West Yorkshire Police has had no issues reported since the conditions were first introduced two weeks ago. They seem to have had the desired affect, alongside the landlady being on site.”
Paddy Whur, of specialist licensing and regulatory law firm Woods Whur, represented the Barley Mow at the hearing. He said many of the problems stemmed from owner Mrs Shaw being absent from the premises and said the pub manager on duty at the time had been removed from post.
He said Mrs Shaw was a strong manager who had turned around the fortunes of other ‘challenging’ pubs, such as the World’s End in Pudsey. He said she was now living on site, was already securing ‘significant improvements’ and added that the CCTV provision had been ‘massively enhanced’.
Three local residents had also objected to the licence, following concerns about anti-social behaviour and noise.
Speaking on behalf of one of the residents, Councillor Kevin Ritchie (Lab, Bramley & Stanningley) said problems at the pub were causing ‘great stress and anxiety for my constituents’ and also highlighted concerns with noise from an outdoor TV screen.
Members of the sub committee decided against implementing further conditions and suggested Mrs Shaw open a dialogue with local councillors and the community.
The historic pub, which is a Grade II Listed building, reopened last year under the ownership of Mrs Shaw after being closed for several years. Mrs Shaw owns a number of venues in Leeds and Bradford, including the World’s End in Pudsey.
A council report and all related documents to the licensing committee hearing can be found here.
The pub, which was previously used by Bramley Rugby League Club, had been the subject of an unsuccessful community takeover bid in 2019. The building went up for auction with a guide price of £350,000 in February 2020.
