Selby police have successfully applied for the temporary closure of a town centre pub.
Officers applied for an Expedited Summary Review to Selby District Council’s Licensing Hearings Sub Committee on 7 April 2014, in respect of J T Mellanbys on Finkle Street.
The review followed a violent disturbance at the pub on 1 April 2014 which left a man with life-threatening injuries.
Following representations by North Yorkshire Police, the committee agreed to a temporary suspension of J T Mellanbys’ licence, pending a full licensing review. It will remain closed until at least 30 April 2014 at which point a full review of the licence is scheduled to take place.
Inspector Michelle Falkingham of Selby Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: Our prime concern is the safety of members of the public and following the incident on 1 April and concerns about the management of the pub, we felt that an immediate closure was necessary to ensure the safety of members of the public.
Selby District Council’s Licensing Hearings Sub Committee shared our concerns and granted the immediate temporary closure of the premises.
Members of the public should be able to enjoy a night out in safety and if we feel that their safety is compromised, we will not hesitate to take action.
A spokesman for Selby District Council added: On the 7 April 2014 the Licensing Sub Committee decided as an interim step to suspend the premises licence for J T Mellanbys under s53A of the Licensing Act 2003, following the serious incident there on the 1 April 2014.
The sub committee decided they had no confidence in the ability of the management of the premises in light of the evidence presented. The incident had failed to be dealt with and managed in a manner that would reasonably be expected of a responsible manager of licensed premises.
The licence holder had also not ensured that there were safe systems or adequate staff and equipment in order to promote the licensing objectives. In addition to this the Sub Committee noted a previous licensing review and other incidents that had occurred. The suspension will take immediate effect and arrangements are now being made for the full review hearing which must take place within 28 days.
Following the incident on 1 April 2014, a 24-year-old Castleford man was charged with affray and wounding with intent. He was remanded in custody and appeared at York Magistrates’ Court on 3 April and is due to appear at York Crown Court at a date in the future.
Two other men, one aged 45 from Blackburn and one aged 32 from Bootle were also arrested and remain on police bail while enquiries continue.
The injured man remains in Hull Royal Infirmary in a critical condition.
