Kimberley pub owners 'showed no remorse' and claimed revoking of licence was a 'set up'

Last week, the Advertiser reported that Mei Mei Huang and Juan Hau Chen, owners of the Queen’s Head in Main Street, were refused a new premises licence allowing the pub to open until 4am at weekends.

It has now been revealed that the licence was partly refused because the owners “showed no remorse” after police were called out to the venue numerous times to deal with large scale incidents in the months leading up to its forced closure a year ago.

Fights, glasses being thrown, underage drinking and assaults leaving one victim with a fractured cheek and eye socket were all recorded by Nottinghamshire Police before the original licence was revoked by Broxtowe Borough Council in November 2020.

The pub was described as having “a negative impact on the community”, with police reporting “multiple calls for assistance from residents” last summer – including one incident involving 30 males in the street throwing glasses.

Rather than contain the problem, the police said the venue was still allowing people to leave with glasses while this was going on.

One incident, police said, left a victim with a fractured eye socket and cheek when a fight broke out in the beer garden.

There was also another incident where police attended to find 30 people in the street and two males kicking a man to the floor.

Another incident was attended by East Midlands Ambulance Service when a large scale public disorder incident involving up to 50 people took place in the street.

Police said the owners of the pub responded by locking the pub door. Officers could not gain entry but could see another fight breaking out inside.

When the police, and licensing authority, asked them to employ door staff they were told ‘it would cost too much’.

The owners, who communicated with the licensing committee through a translator, called the revoking of their licence “a set up”.

They said 18 cameras had been installed around the premises, a door supervisor had been sought, and the incidents detailed had been in the street not the pub.

“We will maintain a good level of safety,” they told the committee.

But Cllr Patrick Lally, chair of the committee, said the three-person panel were not convinced.

“We have people assaulted within the premises, glasses being thrown all over the place and this does not seem to have been addressed.

“I am not sure you can dismiss what is going on round your premises just because it is not in your premises. That is not the responsible attitude we are looking for from a licensee holder.”

The panel deliberated the application and decided to refuse it in its entirety.

Cllr Lally added: “They have shown no remorse or acceptance of responsibilty and failed to heed the advice given by responsible authorities.

“The police, environmental health and the licensing department had offered significant support to the applicant but they had failed to act upon it.

“This application would have a negative impact on the community.”