Town centre bar forced to close

A POPULAR Warrington town centre bar which broke licensing laws was shut down by police.
Plan B in Springfield Street was temporarily closed by officers who carried out a random visit and discovered the premises in breach of licensing conditions.
Officers also banned Big Bar, on Bridge Street, from serving alcohol to customers last Saturday night for similar breaches.
Plan B was forced to close last Friday evening when police decided they were in breach of a number of licensing conditions. The bar opened the following evening once they had been rectified.
Inspector Richard Reeves, who is in charge of the Warrington town centre NPU, said: “We hope this sends out a strong message that we will take action against any licensed premises that are considered to be in breach of their licensing conditions.
“A big part of the role of the new NPU is to address issues such as these and to look at the most effective ways of tackling them.
“My team is committed to working with licensees and building up a close relationship with them so they feel they can approach us if they have any issues or concerns.
“We want to work with them to create a more positive image of the town centre. But we also want to reassure the public that we will take positive action against any premises that are found to be in breach of their licensing conditions.”
Big Bar did rectify the problems and with the permission of officers were allowed to reopen last Sunday.
Superintendent Jed Manley added: “We constantly review all licensed premises in the area to ensure they are adhering to the conditions of their licence.
“If there are further issues, or identified problems which are not addressed by licensees, then we have the power to take further action.
“We have a range of options open to us. These include putting premises on action plans – a document which sets out exactly how they should operate – which tend to run for a specified period of time.
“In the most extreme cases we would look to take it to a licensing review if further action is needed.
“We do not take these measures lightly but it should serve as a warning to others that if issues are not addressed in the correct way then we will not hesitate in taking action.”