A public house in Tenby has seen its operating hours reduced, after police called for a review of the premises' licence in a bid to clampdown on violence and anti-social behaviour taking place in that area of the town.

Following a hearing at County Hall in Haverfordwest last week, Pembrokeshire County Council's licensing sub-committee delivered their decision yesterday (Thursday), after deliberating over the police application calling for a reduction in the Three Mariners Inn's hours.

The sub-committee announced that they have decided to allow the premises licence to continue subject to - modification of the conditions of the licence, that will see the hours for licensable activities altered so that licensable activities are permitted until 11 pm, with the premises to close to the public at 11.30 pm every day.

Police had requested that the hours of the premises be reduced to 10.30 pm, with the public off the premises by 11 pm every day of the week with no exceptions. The Inn's opening times were allowing the premises to stay open until 1 am, Monday to Thursday, and 'til 1.30 am, from Friday to Sunday.

Members of the committee were presented at the hearing with a dossier from police licensing officer Nigel Hayes, that featured supporting evidence, including police incident reports and letters of complaints from neighbouring properties.

The supporting evidence submitted, featured examples of incidents dating from August 2013 to the end of September 2014, highlighting 'a year in the life of the premises' which is located on St. George's Street.

The report referred to 30 incidents which gave the police rise for concern, with 19 out of those for violence and eight for anti-social behaviour.

CCTV footage shown to the committee also highlighted incidents of concern that had occurred inside the premises.

Police stated in the report that they had concerns about the management of the venue, in particular relating to the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder; and the prevention of public nuisance.

In correspondence to the licence holder of the Three Mariners, Punch Taverns plc, after an 'action plan' was entered into with the management of the premises back in 2012 and Mr. Keith May, the 'designated premises supervisor' at the time, Mr. Hayes had stated that there were a number of issues they hoped to "iron out and erase", after a number of complaints were brought to the attention of the licensing authority and subsequently the police.

In a statement released yesterday by the county council, the sub-committee noted that there were concerns relating to the premises, in relation to the police's evidence referring to the number of incidents relating to violence and anti-social behaviour that have taken place in or associated with the premises, with information provided stating that nearly 70 per cent of incidents have occurred after 11 pm; as well as the responsible authority, Pollution Control representations relating to reports and complaints regarding noise issues.

"In order to address the causes of these concerns which the sub-committee considers arise from the police's evidence as to the incidents relating to the premises and the lack of consistency in the management of the premises and Pollution Control's representations detailing complaints and reports from noise relating to the premises, the sub-committee has therefore decided that action under its statutory powers is appropriate to promote the licensing objectives in the interests of the wider community," a spokesperson said.

"The sub-committee has therefore decided to allow the premises licence to continue subject to - modification of the conditions of the licence as follows: That the hours for licensable activities are altered so that licensable activities are permitted until 11 pm, with the premises to close to the public at 11.30 pm every day; That the conditions relating to non-standard timings are omitted and therefore removed from the licence; That the 'maximum occupancy' condition in Annex 2 of the premises licence be omitted and a condition is added in its place, namely that 'maximum occupancy - no more than 150 persons (including staff) are allowed on the premises at any one time'; that the last four conditions in paragraph 1 under the sub-heading 'Prevention of Crime and Disorder' in Annex 2 of the premises licence is omitted and a condition is added in its place, that 'door staff be employed at the premises from 7 pm until closing time every day'.

"In making this decision, the sub-committee is satisfied that the licensing objectives are appropriately promoted, and that the interests of the wider community are addressed; and that its decision is an appropriate and proportionate response," they added.