Club given birthday party ban (From Western Telegraph)

Club given birthday party ban

12:19pm Friday 11th January 2013 in News

A Fishguard venue has been banned from holding birthday parties for the under 30s following a meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s licensing sub-committee yesterday (Thursday).

A local resident had applied for a licence review of the Railwaymens Club, which is situated in a residential area, after an 18th birthday party that “got out of hand” last November.

Club secretary, Selwyn Jenkins, told the meeting that they had only held three 18th parties last year, two of w0hich had resulted in complaints.

A party in May and the November event resulted in complaints of racist abuse, urination in doorways and on cars, walls pushed over and a teenage girl removing her underwear in the street.

Neighbours said that they felt “terrified, threatened and unsafe in their own homes” and that the parties had attracted a number of seemingly underage youngsters behaving in what appeared to be a drunken manner.

“When you have these events in a premises it acts as a honey pot,” said Dyfed-Powys Police licensing officer Nigel Hayes.

“Young people will be attracted to it. If you have an 18th birthday party it will attract people not invited and not all will be over 18. It is still up to the premises to manage it.

“There need to be very strict conditions with the license which force the [club’s]committee to take more responsibility.”

Mr Jenkins said that at the November party a number of people arrived who were not on the guest list, they were denied entry to the party but remained in the area.

He said that that on the Sunday after the party, club staff and members cleared the area of cans and bottles, most of which were brands not for sale in the club.

He appealed for the sub-committee not to reduce the club’s hours: “There will be no functions if the club’s hours are reduced,” he said. “Maybe in the next 12 months you will find another establishment closed down in Fishguard.”

The sub-committee spent around an hour deliberating the conditions of the licence. They concluded that the conditions of the licence should be altered so that the club could no longer hold birthday parties for the under 30s, must keep an accurate record of functions held and install a CCTV system which meets with Dyfed-Powys Police’s operational requirement guidance.