Warwick District Council has refused to comment on whether an events bar in Kenilworth is being allowed to run with the wrong planning permissions.

A row was sparked after Kenilworth Town Council raised serious concerns about the licensing and planning approval for The Garden Bar at the Pavilion, on Castle Road.

Whilst the owner maintains that she has done everything WDC has asked of her, the district council has refused to give clarity to neighbours who think she is wrong.

One resident said: "It has all got emotional now. The planning permission issue needs to be clarified, as does the number of TENs licences - however lovely a venture it is.

"If it's a long term thing it surely needs planning permission?"

At a planning meeting earlier this month, town councillors said Castle Pavilion should not be used as a bar as the planning approval, which dates from 2005, forbids any commercial activity.

They also questioned whether the decision by WDC to give the Garden Bar 10 different Temporary Events Notices (TENs) "was a good decision in the first place".

District's response

Multiple planning applications have been rejected to turn the stables into other premises over the past 15 years.

Kenilworth Nub News contacted the district council for comment but a WDC spokesperson said: "I'm sorry but we are unable to comment in detail on individual cases.

"All we can say at this stage is that the current activities at the site are being carefully considered by council officers who are also in contact with the site owners."

As councillors continue to offer little clarity on the case, owner Gabreille Parry has hit back at a "witch hunt" towards her business.

She also said that councillors were acting purely from residents' complaints and they had not given her a fair hearing.

"Councillors haven't been to see what is happening - they are just going off gossip from the neighbours. It's really sad because I think you have got to hear both sides," she said.

"It all seems to be one sided and I seem to be excluded."

WDC has said it is "in contact with the site owners" after the town council asked it to investigate the issue.

Licensing

Whilst the district council refused to discuss the planning for the Pavilion it did offer some explanation about the temporary events licenses that had been granted.

A council spokesperson said: "The council is unable to refuse a TEN unless the police or environmental health object to it.

"They must object within three working days of receiving a TEN and they can only object if they have evidence that the event could: lead to crime and disorder, cause a public nuisance, be a threat to public safety or put children at risk of harm."

The council said that the application was a "light touch process" and so the licensing authority doesn't have to approve an application.

Only if there was an objection to the application by the police or environmental health would a hearing take place.

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