Victory for Yorkshire micropub after council is ordered to reinstate licence they revoked for Covid breaches and pay legal costs

The Ref and Whistle had its premises licence revoked by Craven Council in early 2021 due to a number of Covid-19 breaches including not adhering to social distancing, mask-wearing and table service rules during the pandemic, when it was run by Simon Greaves.

However, after Mr Greaves ended his involvement with the business, his wife Wendy took over the bar and applied for the licence to be returned.

Last August the council refused to grant it because licensing officers believed she was not acting independently of her husband.

A temporary two-day operating licence was issued to Mrs Greaves pending the outcome of an appeal hearing. During this time, inspections of the bar revealed no concerns over anti-social behaviour or noise levels.

Mrs Greaves successfully appealed the council's decision at court, with Skipton magistrates ordering the council to reinstate the licence in full and pay her £19,000 legal costs.

The micropub was slapped with a prohibition notice in December 2020, requiring it to remain closed until further notice, after concerns were raised about Mr Greaves' compliance with Covid restrictions - which included him not wearing a mask himself. A number of complaints about the bar were made by members of the public between April and December 2020.