'Nuisance' pub near Wolverhampton that lost licence twice applies to trade under new name
A ‘nuisance’ pub near Wolverhampton that lost its licence for the second time in June has submitted a new application to trade under a different name.
The Pendulum in Blaydon Road, Pendeford, has been the subject of a long catalogue of angry complaints from neighbours and repeated incidents where police have been called.
Previous to losing its licence earlier this year, the venue also had it revoked in May 2020 after police caught people drinking inside during the Covid lockdown. The pub was later allowed to reopen subject to a number of conditions.
A new licence application listing the premises as the Pendeford Bar & Grill has now been submitted to the council by Harminder Singh/Wish Supply UK Ltd. The pub falls within the Oxley ward.
However the move has sparked concerns from West Midlands Police and local councillor Adam Collinge.
In a letter to the council, Councillor Collinge said: "Of course I would wish for the Pendulum to be a successful well-run establishment, that is respectful of the local community. Unfortunately, the former management of the venue in preceding years has let the local community down.
“Many local residents have been concerned by anti-social behaviour, noise, disorder and other nuisance and there has been recent history of multiple licence breaches and wider concerns. This is why this application is sensitive.
“I also believe there may be outstanding legal matters – appeal against the previous licence revocation. Having reviewed the licence application, consulted with licencing and received comment from a number of residents, whilst I appreciate the scope of the application is relatively modest, concerns remain.”
“Upon review of the application, whilst not necessarily invalid, there appears to be three or four parties to the licence application, whereby their experience or future involvement is unclear. Local concerns have also been raised that the licence application is linked to the previous licensee or venue management, under which the previous licence was revoked.” he added.
“The venue owners in my opinion owe a duty of care to the local community given the issues that have arisen under the previous lease of the premises.
“Overall, whilst I want a successful establishment to emerge – as was the case some years ago – a fresh start does appear to be needed for the venue, to restore some public confidence as much as anything else.
“I am unclear if the licence application as presented can achieve this and whether the licencing objectives would be met for the reasons stated above.”
In further written correspondence to the council, a spokesman for Gosschalks Solicitors said: “We act on behalf of Ei Group Ltd. Our client is the freehold owner of these premises and we have been informed about an application for a new premises licence submitted by Wish Supply UK Ltd/Harminder Singh.
“Ei Group Ltd owns approximately 3,500 public houses in England and Wales. The vast majority of these premises are the subject of lease/tenancy agreements through which the tenant operates his/her/its own business out of our client’s premises.
“The lease/tenancy agreement makes it clear that all operational responsibility for the premises lies with the tenant. There is no tenancy in favour of Wish Supply UK Ltd/Harminder Singh and they have no operational control over these premises.
“Notwithstanding that the applicant does not have any legal/contractual relationship with our client and no basis to occupy the premises, there are serious concerns that the applicant may have strong links to the previous tenant/management who had their premises licence revoked on June 23 2022.
“The allegations made against the previous management by the police were extremely serious and due to the concerns that the parties may be connected, we support the police by strongly formally objecting to the granting of the new premises licence in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety and the prevention of children from harm.”
A local resident who did not wish to be named also wrote to the council and said: “I, along with my neighbours, am against this licence being issued. We have ongoing concerns with noise issues from this pub, which are well documented.”
In an email to the council, licensing and regulatory officer for West Midlands Police Aimee Taylor said: “As the brewery have not agreed a lease tenancy agreement with the applicant to use their premises, the applicant will not be able to uphold the licensing objectives.”
The council’s statutory licensing sub-committee will discuss the application on October 4.
