Future of Thatcham pub hangs in the balance

Pub company Punch Taverns claims nuisance pub the Black Horse can be turned around

THE pub company which owns the Black Horse in Thatcham has said it is hopeful that problems of excessive noise, violence, and threatening and anti-social behaviour relating to the pub will stop now that the pub manager has been sacked.

However, a decision on whether or not the pub will be allowed to continue to trade still hangs in the balance.

It was revealed at a West Berkshire Council (WBC) Licensing Sub-Committee meeting on Monday (23) that the former manager of the Punch Taverns-owned pub in St John's Road pub, Beverly Barnaby, was recently asked to leave her post following several complaints from local residents and the police.

The meeting was called after Thames Valley Police asked for the pub's licence to be revoked due to an unacceptable number of complaints, breaches of the Licensing Act and breaches of conditions to continue trading set out by West Berkshire Council in a review in July last year.

But just before the meeting took place, Punch Taverns and Thames Valley Police said they had informally agreed conditions that both were happy with, ensuring:

- door staff are implemented during regulated entertainment,

- items including barrels are delivered at a reasonable time of day, unlike 3am as had been in the past,

- a local, Designated Premise Supervisor be appointed

During the meeting, Roy Light, from Punch Taverns, confirmed that Ms Barnaby had been sacked and replaced with a completely new team.

He said: "A lot of the residents have said they are happy with what's going on and they were unhappy with the past management.

"The past management have been asked to leave.

"Working with Thames Valley Police we are sure the premises will not be a problem for local residents.

"The new management team has made sure that everything is running well."

Thames Valley Police had provided evidence of the pub's recent history for the hearing on Monday.

This included a report of an assault at the premise on September 23 last year, evidence that on November 7 last year Ms Barnaby was not making customers leave quietly as they left the pub at 11.30pm, and a report that on January 3 this year Environmental Health said that complaints had been received about music being played at the pub, with the windows open, at 11.20pm.

It was also noted that in August last year, just a couple of weeks after the pub was subjected to new licence conditions, neighbouring residents had lodged complaints about noise and antisocial behaviour at the Black Horse.

At the time, Ms Barnaby said the problems were no worse than any other pub.

Thatcham neighbourhood police sergeant, Caroline Harrison, said that from now on regular meetings would take place between the pub and the police and any issues raised would be fed back to the Licensing Sub-Committee.

Despite the terms agreed between the police and Punch Taverns, the matter remains in the hands of West Berkshire Council's Licensing Sub-Committee and its decision on whether or not to revoke the pub's licence is expected shortly.

Following Monday's meeting, a spokeswoman for Punch Taverns, Leila Maia, said: "We are pleased to have installed a new licensee with 20 years experience in the pub trade and an understanding of the local area.

"We look forward to working in partnership to build a successful business."