Lockdown Landlords

The lockdowns have hit the pubs and clubs more than most industries (unfairly in my opinion, but enough of that) ...

Sheffield Pubs And Landlord In Lockdown Disagreement

  ... and while the big chains have taken a hit, they all seem to have survived for now.

The independents pubs though have probably not been so lucky, and many will probably not have reopened when the UK lockdown eased. Its to be hoped that most have survived .... but even the chain pubs have had some issues. 

Punch Taverns for example is a group that manages over 1,300 pubs, which includes The Pitsmoor Hotel, and Staffordshire Arms in Burngreave, Sheffield England. The landlord of both establishments when the first lockdown came in to force, were the licensee Mr Paul Greasby, who has apparently had a few issues with the local licensing committee. In January 2020 the Pitsmoor Hotel licence was suspended because fees had not been paid, but was open when the lockdown started.

I think its fair to say that Mr Greasby was not a fan of the lockdown .... An audio recording of an argument between Mr Greasby and his former girlfriend, also revealed Mr Greasby shouting that coronavirus  was “a load of fucking bollocks”. His ex girlfriend could then be heard asking him “do you not think you’re doing something wrong, Paul?” to which he replied: “No, because I know it’s a load of shit. It’s a load of fucking bollocks.”

In April 2020, when all pubs in the UK were closed, the police raided the Pitsmoor Hotel after a tip off that it was serving drinkers in defiance of the government instructions ... they allegedly found customers ‘hiding in cupboards’.

Police Found Customers Hiding In The Cupboards

A prohibition order was served under lockdown laws. But when police returned the next day, following further reports from the public that it was still serving customers, the officers found people were on the roof "to make it look like no-one was inside", a report to the council licensing committee.

The pub was closed, and in May 2020 the council licensing committee took the decision to strip both the Pitsmoor Hotel and Staffordshire Arms of their licences. .... Mr Greasby appealed the removal of the pubs licences.

Mr Greasby, who had run the Pitsmoor Hotel for around a year and the Staffordshire Arms for nearly eight years, said: “I would not wish to make any comment at this stage other than to say that the press reports are wildly inaccurate. In one instance [at the Staffordshire Arms] there was no one in the public house at all and in the other instance [at the Pitsmoor Hotel] the only people in the public house were my son and some of his friends."

"They were upstairs in the private quarters, no money was taken for any drinks in either instance. Neither of these pubs were at the time open to the public. The full detail of what took place on these occasions will be given to the proper licensing authority in due course."  

A further review was held after an appeal, by the licensing committee on the 23rd June 2020, in which Mr Greasby appeared via a video link asking not to lose his licence .... The council decision was 'that, in the light of the information contained in the reports now submitted, and the representations now made, the premises licences in respect of the premises known as Pitsmoor Hotel, 448 Pitsmoor Road, Sheffield S3 9AY and the Staffordshire Arms, 40 Sorby Street, Sheffield, S4 7LB (Case Nos.43/20 and 42/20, respectively) be revoked'. 

That should have been that ....  but in July 2020 he promptly reopened the pubs (even though they now had no licence), when the first lockdown was eased .... when asked by the local press for a comment about this, Mr Greasby replied: “Yes. Carling £2.90, John Smith's £2.80, Strongbow £2.80, Strongbow Darkfruit £2.90, Guinness, £3. Happy Independence Day 4 July 2020. Regards. Paul Greasby.” .... adding "I'm not doing anything illegal. I'm open."

Sadly the local press seems to have lost interest after that (just when it got really interesting), and the story dropped from the net. So what happened after his defiance in July 2020, is not known to me, which is a shame, but not unexpected as this is usually the case with this sort of story .... but I trawled the Sheffield licensing committee, and found that the licence for the Pitsmoor Hotel at least, is still apparently suspended.

Now you might think that this was a one off .... but you  would be wrong.  

The Cock Hotel on Two Trees Lane in Denton, Tameside, Greater Manchester, held ‘invite only’ gatherings in a pub where punters sang karaoke, drank beer, played pool and smoke inside. After a tip-off from a member of the public that people were being let into the pub through the back door, in defiance of the second coronavirus lockdown rules, the premises were raided by police.

The Landlord, Michael Andrew, told licensing officers he had been having a drink with his lodger while watching a football match, but after the discovery of more people in the building, Mr Andrew changed the story and said the incident was a ‘one-off,’ and that he had invited people round because he was ‘lonely’ and no alcohol had been sold.

The Cock Hotel ... CCTV Told The Story

But Mr Andrew had not turned off the CCTV, and its recordings from inside the pub revealed that the establishment had been open and trading through the back door, on a further three occasions throughout the lockdown. The CCTV footage showed that people had been leaving the pub as late as 5.28am.

The licensing committee meeting was told that Mr Andrew had purchased his own barrels of beer to 'sell' to customers during the lockdown period, and the money from which sales did not go through the till. The pubs alcohol licence holders, the Ei Group Ltd, was informed of the raid and the outcome and that the pub had continued to trade. They immediately removed Mr Andrew as the landlord, and served him with an eviction notice. They were told that the pub could keep its licence but needed more supervision.

However, whilst I don't condone breaking the lockdown rules by anyone (we were/are all in it together), I have some sympathy for these landlords ... having your job and home put on the line because of these rules, has put many under intense pressure. I know of a landlord couple who lost their pub jobs, and are now looking for work in another industry after over 25 years in the hospitality sector ..... they felt very bitter about this.