Greater Manchester Police (GMP), represented by Thomas Worsfold, successfully applied to revoke a premises license under the summary review procedure.
GMP were able to demonstrate that ‘Hidden’ Bar in Bury had consistently neglected the licensing objectives over a period of several months – including failing to conduct age verification – leading to an incident of serious disorder in which a man was stabbed.
This was understood to be Bury Council’s first summary review of a premises licence in 5 years. The procedure is set out in s.53A-D of the Licensing Act 2003. It is reserved for cases where the premises is associated with serious crime or disorder and is therefore rarely used.
Despite this, with detailed instructions for GMP, Thomas Worsfold was able to present a compelling case that a stabbing outside the premises was not a one-off, but entirely preventable had appropriate attention been paid to meeting the licensing objectives in the months before the stabbing.
The application was resisted by the premises owner, but the background of poor age verification and lack of engagement with GMP and licensing authorities left the Bury Council Licensing Sub-Committee with little confidence that improvements could be made.
Please see links to press coverage below:
https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/23030408.hidden-bar-bury-license-revoked-man-hos