New Leamington landlord’s late licence application turned town because of previous problems at pub

The new landlord of a Leamington pub has had his application for a late licence turned down because of previous problems at the premises.Cavan Fulton had asked Warwick District Council that the Builders Arms, in Lansdowne Street, be given an extension to serve alcohol and have entertainment until 2am on Sunday, December 18 when it was holding a private party.Mr Fulton was unable to attend this week’s licensing panel hearing due to staff shortages at the pub but In a statement read out at the meeting, he urged councillors to consider the application in a fresh light.He said: “I only took over the pub on June 1st 2022. I don’t wish for the problems from when the previous licence holder had the pub to be a problem for me having a chance to run temp event notices at the Builders Arms in the future.”The application had to be heard by the three-man panel due to an objection from the council’s environmental health team who raised concerns following incidents at the pub including one when an event was staged without a licence in October 2021.Environmental health officer Paulette Samuels said: “As we do with all TENs, we review the application against the backdrop of any complaints we have on our database that speak to how that premises has performed - six to 12 months is usually the window of time.“An application wasn’t allowed because it was out of time but the premises had the event and they were witnessed making very loud music in the early hours of the morning at 1.45am.“The licence holder has changed but it is still the premises and there has been no direct engagement with ourselves since the objection.“As a result of that particular action back in October, we are concerned that the applicant will not do right in complying with the hours that they have asked for and with the levels of noise.”Contrary to Mr Fulton’s statement, the council’s licensing officer, Emma Dudgeon, said records showed that he had taken over the pub in April.Cllr Sidney Syson (Lib Dem, Leamington Milverton) said: “To be fair to this applicant we should only be considering things from April 4 this year though I do note that on April 7 there was fighting in the street and noise app recordings.“Can I just add for the record that this is a highly residential area with lots of flats opposite, above shops and behind.”Members of the panel decided to issue a counter notice which will prevent the pub from having entertainment beyond midnight and from serving alcohol beyond 1am.