In relation to the attached notification of an application to review the premises licence at The Fleece Hotel, 9 - 11 Warrington Road, Ashton In Makerfield, Wigan, I write to confirm that as a delegated officer for the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police I would like to make representations in addition to those made by the applicant. The Fleece is currently subject to a 3 month action plan, which was instigated as a result of a meeting on 19th July 2016 between GMP. Wigan Council Licensing and the Licence Holders/Manager. This meeting was called in response to complaints of noise nuisance reported by a nearby resident. The meeting was held at the pub itself, and raised further concerns about the state the venue was actually in. As a result of this meeting the licence holders were given an action plan to adhere to in order to make improvements around the management of the venue. The plan is detailed as follows: 1. An Incident Book (with pages numbered sequentially) must be kept on the premises and made available for inspection by any responsible authority. The incident book must be used to record the following: Ø Any incident of violence or disorder on or immediately outside the premises Ø Any incident involving controlled drugs (supply/possession/influence) on the premises Ø Any other crime or criminal activity on the premises Ø Any refusal to serve alcohol to persons who are drunk Ø Any refusal to serve alcohol to under 18’s Ø Any call for police assistance to the premises Ø Any first aid/other care given to a customer 2. The premise is to operate an effective CCTV system which is maintained in good working order at all times. The system must be checked on a weekly basis, to include the operation of the cameras, the recording facilities, the facilities for providing footage and the accuracy of the time and date. A written record of these checks to be kept on the premises and made available to any responsible authority on request. The recording medium (eg discs/hard drive) and associated images are to be retained and securely stored for a minimum period of 28 days. and are to be made available to the Police/Authorised Officers of the Licensing Authority upon request. The designated premises supervisor is to ensure that at least two members of staff are trained and familiar with the operation of the equipment, and are able to check that the equipment is operating properly and provide copies of recorded data upon request. 3. All key staff will receive training regarding the sale of alcohol and conflict management. Refresher training will be given on a regular basis. A written record will be kept of all training given and should be available for inspection by any responsible authority on request. 4. Toilet checks will be carried out on a regular basis throughout the times the premise is open for business. Accurate records to be kept and made available to any responsible authority on request. 5. A zero tolerance policy shall be implemented in relation to drugs. Posters highlighting this policy should be prominently displayed. Any incidents involving drugs must be included in the incident book and persons involved banned from the premises. 6. A notice showing the authorised trading times for the premise shall be prominently displayed, both visibly from the outside and internally for the information of customers. 7. That Joshua, as DPS, will be present at the premises during trading hours, especially at the weekend and on nights when there is live music on. 8. The limitations of your licence relating to live music shall be strictly adhered to. For clarity, these are · Ground Floor – Friday and Saturday 19:00 to 00:30 and Sunday 15:00 to 23:00 · Function Room – Thursday to Saturday 19:00 to 04:00 and Sunday 15:00 to 23:00. · Therefore, open mic nights and ‘jamming sessions’ may only take place on the ground floor on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and must adhere to the timings above. 9. Joshua (or nominated person) must conduct regular assessments of the noise coming from the venue on every occasion that the premises are used for regulated entertainment, and shall take steps to reduce the level of noise where it is likely to cause disturbance to local residents. A written record shall be made of these assessments and any remedial action taken. 10. All external windows and doors must be kept closed when regulated entertainment is being provided (except in the event of an emergency). 11. The upstairs function room shall be used only for specific pre-booked functions. Details of which must be forwarded to the police licensing team in advance. The venue was refused planning permission for the upstairs ‘nightclub’ and it is therefore important that it is not used for this purpose. We advise that it would be beneficial for you to maybe visit some of your local residents and apologise for recent circumstances, and in addition reassure them that this situation will not continue and you will do your utmost to address the issues raised. The DPS at that time had been Joshua Smith, but it was felt that he was not a suitable person to be running such a venue. At the meeting GMP were introduced to Stephen Edwards and informed that he would now be taking over as DPS and aside from a period of leave he was due to take he would be moving to Wigan and would take full control of The Fleece. Shortly after the implementation of the action plan Smith was involved in a drunken fight within the living quarters of the venue. This incident occurred at 04:55am on 03/08/16. This incident also involved a Ben Metcalfe and Charlotte Edge. On police arrival all three were highly intoxicated and unco-operative with the police. There was broken glass strewn all over the floor. We tried to contact Stephen Edwards but were unable to. During this time we became aware that whilst Mr Edwards had been installed as DPS, Joshua Smith was still considered the 'manager' and appeared still responsible for running the venue. On 15/09/16 there was a further incident of violence at the pub, resulting in Ben Metcalfe being assaulted, This appeared to revolve around customers being asked to leave due to possible cocaine use in the toilets. A crime report has been submitted and this investigation is ongoing. At this time we were advised that Ben Metcalfe and Charlotte Edge are now the managers of the pub. This raises concerns as they are relatively young and inexperienced, and are the ones who were previously involved in a drunken fight with Joshua Smith. As a result of the incident on 15/09/16 I tried repeatedly to get in touch with the DPS Stephen Edwards. Having left three messages on his voicemail asking him to contact me I had to resort to making contact with Charlotte Edge. She stated that she does not have a contact number for Edwards and that if she needs him to goes via Mr Williams at MBW Law. When asked to tell me when Mr Edwards last visited the venue she stated that he attends approximately three times a week and was last there at lunchtime on Tuesday 13th September. This message was reiterated by Mr Williams at MBW Law, who appear to be 'representing' Dragon Inns. Having forced his hand, Mr Edwards eventually called me and subsequently confirmed that he had not actually set foot in the venue since the meeting of 19th July. This raises further concerns that the actual DPS is not attending the venue at all, the manager and purporting legal representative have both lied to the police and given that the premises is subject to an action plan I would say that this is wholly unacceptable. On the afternoon of Friday 16th September I was assured by both Mr Edwards and Mr Williams that Mr Edwards would be present during trading hours over the weekend, ie Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th. At 8pm on Sunday 18th I rang Charlotte Edge and the phone was answered by Ben Metcalfe. He stated that Mr Edwards had attended on Saturday night but was not there on Sunday. He did not know why. On speaking with Mr Williams this morning, I am informed that they will now look to remove the current DPS and have advertised for a new one. It is unclear who is responsible for the safe running of the venue in the meantime, and am not confident that the issue will be addressed with any urgency. I have real concerns around the management of this venue. Whilst on paper they appear to be complying with elements of the action plan, eg toilet checks and noise checks, it is evident that there is no-one actually in charge. I believe that the application to introduce Stephen Edwards as new DPS was a paper exercise only, and there was no real intention to address this element. Enquiries in relation to the 'licence holder' have also highlighted concerns around the legitimacy of the persons involved. The licence is held by Dragon Inns NW Ltd, of which Peter McNulty is a director. Dragon Inns appear to be represented by Mr Williams (or Williamson) of MBW Law, who describes Dragon Inns as 'his client'. Yet Peter McNulty is also a director at MBW Law. Enquiries are ongoing, but it appears that Mr Williams is currently on bail for serious fraud offences in other parts of the country. We therefore make representations in relation to the following licensing objectives: · the prevention of crime and disorder · public safety · the prevention of public nuisance • protection of children from harm I believe that the overall management of this venue is seriously lacking in professionalism, evidencing a complete disregard for the licensing objectives. I therefore request that as part of this review the committee consider removal of the current DPS (Stephen Edwards) and temporary closure of the venue/suspension of the premises licence whilst whoever is responsible for the effective running of the premises is identified and a clear and acceptable plan is put in place. In addition to the above information, I will be relying on the contents of the following police incidents as evidence: Log No 16, 15/09/16 - this relates to the incident resulting in the assault on Ben Metcalfe Log No 301, 03/08/16 - this relates to the incident involving Joshua, Ben and Charlotte. Log No 3030, 22/07/16 - this relates to report of loud music at 23:55hrs Log No 1758 08/07/16 - this relates to a report of assault Log No 193 02/07/16 - this relates to report of loud music at 01:43hrs Log No 193 10/04/16 - this relates to report of loud music at 01:24hrs Log No 2548 03/04/16 - this relates to a report of assault. Male arrested for being drunk & disorderly. The informant for this incident was only 17 years old at the time. Please let me know if you need any further information at this stage. Regards Sharon Sharon Jackson Sharon Jackson Sergeant Wigan Divisional Partnership Team Wigan Police Station Robin Park Road Wigan WN5 0UP Meeting date to be announced. Best wishes Mike Moulding