The Snug Club: Decision delayed on city centre bar due to missing council

A licensing panel has called for more information from a neighbouring local authority before giving further consideration to the scheme.

West Yorkshire Police have objected to an application by Ashley Stockton to open The Snug Club at a derelict building on Carter Street.

A lawyer representing the force described Mr Stockton as “not a responsible person”.

Barrister Daniel Penmen told a hearing at Wakefield Town Hall how Mr Stockton had breached licensing conditions on numerous occasions at a bar in Barnsley.

Councillors were handed files which contained media reports of alleged licensing breaches at the South Yorkshire premises.

Mr Penman said the articles referred to under-age drinking and violence, an incident where 20 people were charged with serious disorder and another occasion when a member of door staff dealt drugs.

But councillors adjourned the hearing as the information provided lacked official documentation from Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Paul Jacques, a senior legal advisor for Wakefield Council, said police were responsible for producing the paperwork and the hearing should be put off to ensure Mr Stockton receives a fair hearing.

Police also say the licence should not be granted as the property, just off Westgate, is within the council’s cumulative impact zone – an area identified as being at high risk from crime and anti-social behaviour.

Under the policy, licences for so-called ‘vertical drinking establishments’ are only granted in exceptional circumstances.

Duncan Craig, representing Mr Stockton, said the premises would have a maximum capacity for 120 people, with seating available for 47 people.

The application seeks permission to serve alcohol and to play music from 11pm to 2am.

The meeting was told the new business would not be “primarily a drinking establishment” as pizza and tapas would be served, with plans to offer bottomless brunches.

The barrister referred to a “personality clash” between his client and senior South Yorkshire Police officers during his time operating the Barnsley bar.

He said: “There is no question in my mind that Ashley was not treated in a way that was egregiously unfair.”

Councillors were told that Mr Stockton operated another successful bar in Nottingham and had good relationships with officers in that area.

Mr Craig said the property on Carter Street had previously been a bar but the company who owned it went into liquidation.

He said the building was currently derelict and a cannabis farm had been found inside.

The lawyer added: “It is a point worth making, that in town centres up and down the country, how many empty properties there are.

“If this is not going to be licensed premises then what is it going to be?”

Mr Craig said Popworld, on Westgate, had been allowed to extend its opening hours, creating a “recent precedent” for nightclubs operating in the cumulative zone.

Objecting to the application, Mr Penman said: “What he (Mr Stockton) has failed to do at these premises in Barnsley is run it properly and employ staff who can properly supervise it.

“You can have all the licensing conditions in the world but if they are not adhered to they have no value at all.

“Regardless of whether South Yorkshire Police were nice in these proceedings, there are a number of concerns that went unaddressed.

“These are not premises that should be opened.”

Mr Penman also questioned claims that the bar would not be alcohol focused.

He said: “You may ask yourself how are 60 per cent of people, who will be standing up when it’s at capacity, going to consume their pizza or their tapas?

“Or are they in fact going to be stood up drinking because it is a vertical drinking establishment?”

Paul Dean, a licensing enforcement officer for the council’s anti-social behaviour unit, also objected, saying the application “lacked detail”.

David Pickersgill, councillor for Wakefield North ward, spoke against the application.

He described Carter Street as a “flashpoint” for trouble due to the street being narrow and close to takeaways and a taxi rank.

Councillors will decide on the application at a further hearing on a date to be fixed.