Police call for review of Newbury venue's licence

Thames Valley Police recommend a suspension of the licence for the Purple Lounge following breaches of conditions

A LATE night venue in Newbury town centre could have its licence suspended following several breaches of licensing conditions, including serving underage drinkers.

According to a Thames valley Police report, persons under the age of 18 were sold alcohol at The Purple Lounge in Bartholomew Street on two separate occasions in November and January without being asked to provide identification.

On the first occasion on November 27, a 16-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy were served pints of lager, while the second incident on January 29 saw two 16-year-old girls served Smirnoff Ice drinks.

As part of the joint exercise between West Berkshire Trading Standards and Thames Valley Police, a fixed penalty notice was issued to the seller on both occasions.

However, Thames Valley Police say two other conditions of the Premises Licence have also recently been breached, which they say undermine the licensing objectives to prevent crime and disorder and protect children from harm.

Evidence being presented to a licensing hearing on Monday (March 28) states that on January 15, two Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) observed a group of people outside the public house, one of whom was known to be only 15-years-old and was found to be intoxicated.

It is also stated that at about 1.30am on Sunday, January 30, a drunken male was seen to enter the premises, with no door staff present to prevent him from entering, contrary to a licensing condition requiring qualified door staff to be used on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm until the last customer has left.

As a result, Thames Valley Police has recommended that the licence be suspended for a sufficient period of time, up to a maximum of three months, to consider the removal of the present Designated Premises Supervisor and to consider implementing several representations on the licence as conditions.

The deputy local police area commander for West Berkshire, Ch Insp Judith Johnson, said the police treated breaches of conditions very seriously, especially serving alcohol to underage drinkers, and she said that if sellers did not take heed of police warnings, the police would take action, as in this case.

No one from the Purple Lounge could be contacted as Newburytoday.co.uk's sister paper, the Newbury Weekly News went to press yesterday (Wednesday).

The licensing hearing will take place at the West Berkshire Council offices in Market Street at 2pm on Monday.