A NEW bar in Highcliffe is facing a licence review following complaints of noise, anti-social behaviour and ‘workplace violence’.

The Governor in Lymington Road has received hauls of complaints from residents since it first opened in January.

They reported loud music ‘emanating from the venue’, bloody fights outside and even claimed a member of the public was ‘viciously attacked within the premises by a patron’.

BCP Council Environmental Health (EH) said it attempted to engage with the premises licence holder to improve the situation, but they ‘elected not to respond’, prompting an application for a licence review.

In a document shared with the licensing sub-committee meeting on August 14, Dorset Police showed support for the application.

Police Sergeant Gareth Gosling referred to concerning incidents which occurred at The Governor within weeks of its opening.

On January 25, a local resident reported a male could be seen outside the bar with ‘his face covered in blood and being restrained by others’.

Then, on February 3, police received a report a driver was attempting to ‘ram’ the front door of the premises with his vehicle.

A further report of ‘disturbance’ was received on March 31 and involved two individuals ‘assaulting one another and causing damage to furniture’.

More recently, police have been investigating an allegation of a glass being used as a weapon at the premises on June 11.

The Governor also failed to provide CCTV footage of the various incidents to police, documents show.

Sergeant Gosling said: “Dorset Police share the concerns of our partners in Environmental Health that, despite the attempts at engagement, incidents of concerns and disturbance continues to be caused in this area associated with this premises.”

The licensing-sub committee was also presented with the representations made by residents living near to The Governor.

One described seeing fights outside the bar, adding: “One was very serious and nearly resulted in a fatality, with both parties squaring up in the road and then one of them putting the other in a choke hold after slamming him into steel shutters on the jewellery shop opposite the bar.”

Another resident also recalled hearing ‘screaming and fighting’ coming from the premises.

They said: “The fights have been so bad. I, and I think neighbours, have had to call the police and ambulance to injured people and fighting in the middle of the road and the smashing of shop windows.”

Speaking at the licensing sub-committee meeting, Andy Hill from EH suggested a number of conditions were added to the premises licence, including restrictions on live music, the installation of a lobbied entrance and earlier closing hours.

The sub-committee adjourned to consider its options. 

No representatives from The Governor attended the meeting.

The Daily Echo has contacted the bar for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.