The company in charge of a pub in Tilehurst has won a bid to extend its opening hours despite facing accusations over fights and littering by neighbours.
Craft Union, the pub company which runs The Prince in Tilehurst, had applied to sell alcohol at the venue until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The pub currently has a licence to sell alcohol from 10am to 11pm each night.
Now the extended hours have been given the go-ahead, despite neighbour complaints of ‘constant fights’ and kebab meat being strewn along the road they live on.
At a Reading Borough Council meeting, these complaints were given little weight, as Thames Valley Police had not objected to the midnight closures.
Alex Green, a representative from Gosschalks Solicitors said: “The operators have really good relations with the police and the licensing authority, these conditions should deal with the matter.
“There have been no objections from experts. If this was a problem area, they would’ve objected.”
Mr Green added that the pub is well run under its manager Michelle Peterson, and the extended hours would bring it ‘in parity’ with the other nearby pubs in Tilehurst.
These are The Plough, on the opposite side of School Road and The Victoria in Norcot Road, a 10-minute walk from The Prince.
Addressing the accusation that punters were responsible for littering ‘bits of old kebab’ in neighbouring St Michaels Road, Mr Green said: “It is far from certain where these people are coming from.”
Councillor Paul Woodward (Labour, Church), agreeing, said: “Kebab-related litter implies people have been elsewhere.
“There is no evidence that this litter has come from The Prince.”
Mr Green also pointed out that Craft Union has agreed to a series of ‘robust’ conditions, such as the hiring of two supervisors from 8pm until closure on Fridays and Saturdays, and full closure of the external drinking areas when the pub itself closes.
Ultimately, the application to extend alcohol sales to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays was agreed at a council licensing applications committee meeting on Wednesday, July 24.
The committee was made up of cllr Woodward, the chairman, cllr Deborah Edwards (Labour, Southcote), the vice chair, and cllr Glenn Dennis (Labour, Kentwood), who’s also the mayor of Reading.
Craft Union is a franchise owned by Stonegate Group, the biggest pub company in the UK.
Mr Green mentioned that Craft Union has opened its 600th location at the Fleece & Flagon in Witney, Oxfordshire recently.
Cllr Woodward asked the representatives why the pub was renamed from ‘The Prince of Wales’ to ‘The Prince’ but they were unable to answer.
The Prince of Wales had a rocky licensing history, with its former owners losing their licence after two police officers were ‘trapped inside’ the pub before more police arrived in 2016.
The pub was seen rebranded The Prince the following year.
