Pembrokeshire County Council's licensing sub- committee has elected to reduce a Tenby nightclub's opening hours following a hearing at Haverfordwest's County Hall on Wednesday.
Back in September, Tenby Police Inspector Russell Smith put forward an application on behalf of Dyfed Powys Police for a review of the licence in respect of Upper Frog Street's Prince of Wales nightclub. The opening hours for the club from Monday to Sunday stood from 9 am to 3 am, with extra hours granted for Bank Holidays, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day along with New Year's Eve.
Insp. Smith reported that the concerns related to a number of issues, with 50 incidents reported to the police and a large number of the complaints relating to the anti-social behaviour of persons leaving the premises in the early hours of the morning. "It is clear that the management of the premises has fallen well below that expected of a competent operator," stated Insp. Smith in his written report. "The failure of management has resulted in the failure to satisfy licensing objectives such as the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, and also the prevention of public nuisance."
Senior environmental health officer Sarah Johns for Pembrokeshire county council's pollution control team also reported that noise abatement notices had been served on both Mr. Damien Brown and his wife Jackie, the licensees of the Prince of Wales, back in September 2006, due to a number of complaints from residents of the street.
"A lot of the problems associated with the premises relate to noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour outside of the club or in the vicinity," reported Mrs. Johns.
"It would be impossible to say that all of these incidents are directly related to the club. However, it is a fact that the club benefits from the latest hours in Tenby and that it is questionable whether many of these people would be in the area if the club were not open at that time," she added.
After the hearing, the members of county council's licensing sub-committee agreed to a cut in the nightclub's opening hours and late-night refreshments licence, which will now be from 9 am to 1.30 am daily with an extra half-an-hour on Bank Holidays and other special times. Sale of alcohol will be prohibited after 1 am, with again an extra half-an-hour on Bank Holidays and other special times, while the live or recorded music licence will run to 1 am daily.
The conditions of the club's premises licence were also modified, with a number of conditions imposed.