"Huge queues outside the Oak Inn in Coventry that opened on stroke of midnight"

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Oak Inn appeal decision to revoke their licence

The Oak Inn have appealed against their licence being revoked.

It was revoked last month (November) after West Midlands Police (WMP) demanded the late night establishment be reviewed.

Cops called for intervention from the council after they revealed officers were called to the pub 25 times in a matter of months, culminating in an alleged rape on the premises in September.

And today, Coventry City Council have announced an appeal has been filed on behalf of the pub in the hope the decision will be reconsidered.

A council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an appeal has been filed on behalf of The Oak Inn at Coventry Magistrates Court.

“The Court will set a date for the appeal to be heard in the coming weeks.”

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The Oak Inn 'under new management' and looks set to reopen



The Oak Inn is "under new management" and will reopen with "detailed, stringent conditions" it has been confirmed.

The Gosford Street establishment made headlines for all the wrong reasons last year with a series of issues which demanded police intervention.

West Midlands Police eventually called for Coventry City Council to review the pub's licence and after a hearing in November, it was revoked.

It is understood management appealed the decision, but licensing officers have now confirmed the pub is under new management.

However, police are keen to avoid a repeat of last year's issues, and officers have been working with Marston's, the brewery which owns the pub, to make the pub function in a safer fashion.

These include measures to ensure door staff wear body cameras and reduced hours - the pub was infamously known for staying open later than most drinking establishments in the city centre.

A spokesperson for Coventry Police Licensing Unit said: “We’ve been working with the brewery which owns the Oak Inn to address our concerns about a series of disorders and serious incidents at the venue last year.

“The pub is now under new management and we’ve agreed a new licence with detailed, stringent conditions. These include reduced opening hours and an insistence that all door staff wear body-worn video.

“The new licensee is aware of the historic issues at the premises and appreciates that this robust set of conditions is required and proportionate.”

Coventry City Council say it is aware a new premise license was applied for and that the pub is under new management, but had nothing to add to the information provided by police.

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Well-known Coventry pub up for sale just months after takeover



A well-known pub in Coventry is up for sale just months after it was taken over by new management. The Oak Inn, along Gosford Street, underwent major refurbishment last year when it was taken over by a new management team.

It was hoped the pub would be given a new lease of life with new ownership after the boozer became a hotspot for trouble and violence. The pub was known to stay open later than most drinking establishments in the city centre, welcoming punters until 6am on weekends.

Officers were called to the pub many times and West Midlands Police even demanded the landlord's licence be revoked. Coventry City Council agreed and the pub's licence was withdrawn in November 2021.

It wasn't closed for long though with business partners Narinder and Irina, experienced in the pub trade, taking over the place. They implemented new rules to deter violence, closed earlier on weekends and were said to have imposed stricter door policies and security guards.

They also added a menu consisting of Asian cuisine. But less than a year later the boozer has been placed back on the market.

The Oak Inn is one of 15 Marston's pubs up for grabs in the West Midlands. The Wolverhampton pub group has now put 61 of its pubs up for sale across the country.

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It was owned by M&B in my day (despite the outdated Atkinson's sign on the wall).



I think the Sandersons were managers when this picture was taken? They had a three-legged white labrador called 'Smokey'!

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Anger over Coventry pub with music so loud neighbours 'can't sleep'



A Coventry pub could lose its licence after its loud music repeatedly kept neighbours awake. People living near The Oak Inn were reportedly so exhausted by lack of sleep they could not do their jobs properly.

After months of complaints, council officers have applied to review the pub's licence. The Gosford Street pub's fate will be decided by councillors at a hearing next week, Monday 16 September.

The application states there has been "persistent" noise nuisance from amplified music inside and outside the pub since December. The incidents took place at times ranging from 11.30am to past 2am.

Neighbours could hear song lyrics in their bedrooms even with the windows closed and "loud bass beats" disturbed their sleep, it said. People complained on eight different occasions about the noise in as many months, most recently in July.

In each case officers visiting the area found the noise was a "statutory nuisance," meaning people are seriously disrupted from their daily activities. The problems continued despite the council's efforts to resolve it, the document added.

Officers tried to give the licencees advice but this was "ignored" and the pub has breached formal noise abatement notices several times, it claimed. The council's environmental protection officer who made the application wrote: "These events have repeatedly happened during the week and weekends even after warnings have been issued.

"As a result, people have been unable to sleep, causing them severe stress and affecting their health. I have had conversations with people affected who have not been able to do their jobs properly because they are so tired."

He said he has "no confidence" in the venue's management and it is likely the issues will continue. He asked councillors to consider revoking the licence or restricting when and where the pub can play music.

Under its current licence the pub can play live and recorded music until 3am - so long as the noise does not cause a nuisance to nearby buildings. Reports said during the consultation on the licence review the pub's premises licence holder changed, though its designated premises supervisor is the same.

The Oak Inn has confirmed its owner is the still the same. Councillors will have five possible courses of action at next week's meeting including changing, suspending or revoking the pub's licence.

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'Nuisance' Coventry pub surrenders licence after noise complaints from neighbours



A Coventry pub at the centre of a series of noise complaints has surrendered its licence. The Oak Inn has also reportedly closed according to recent social media posts.

A hearing into the pub's licence was due to take place two days ago, Monday 16 September. But it was cancelled and will not be rescheduled after the pub's premises licence was surrendered by its holder, the council confirmed to Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The authority had applied for the review after repeated noise problems at the Gosford Street venue. Neighbours complained eight times in as many months about late night loud music there, according to meeting papers.

Officers who visited found in all cases the sound was a "statutory" nuisance - meaning people's daily lives were being severely disrupted. Locals were left unable to sleep and it impacted people's health and jobs, they added.

The pub had also breached so-called "noise abatement notices" served by the council, meeting papers said. Councillors had been due to review the pub's licence which allows it to serve alcohol, late night food and open until 3am as well as other activities.

A council officer had recommended the pub's permit be removed entirely or changed with restrictions on when it could play music. Though the pub has now returned its licence, the notice requiring noise be reduced is still live.

It may be served on any future licence holders if future problems arise. This is just the latest chapter for the Oak Inn which made headlines while under different management three years ago.

The Gosford Street pub was visited repeatedly by police over six months in 2021, Coventry Live reported at the time. The venue's licence was revoked by councillors in November that year after police called for a review.

In 2022 the pub re-opened with new managers but a year later was up for sale. Council records show the pub's licence was transfered in August 2023, five months after news that it was on the market.

Last week, 13 September, the pub wrote on its Facebook page: "The oak inn closed" and posted a photo of a closed sign. The same picture was shared on its Instagram account, though Google and Facebook still list the pub as being open.

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Investigation into 'unauthorised works' at Coventry's Grade II listed Oak Inn



Coventry City Council is investigating after a huge sign was put up at a Grade II listed Coventry pub. The giant board appears to advertise a supermarket and was seen on the outside of the Oak Inn's first floor on Saturday, 16 November.

The pub's distinctive lettering is also not visible in photos that were shared online and with local media that day. In a statement yesterday (18 November), Coventry council said it is not aware of any applications for the recent work and that officers have visited the site.

The Oak Inn pub has been a Grade II listed building for 50 years, meaning it is considered by government to be of special interest. A special kind of planning permission is needed to make changes that would affect a listed building's character, according to Coventry council's website.

This is known as listed building consent and is "always required" for "any alteration or extension to the building," the council adds. The authority says even small changes or redecoration can require planning applications and says owners should always check if they need permission.

Its website warns that it is a criminal offence to carry out work to a listed building without permission and the council can prosecute if work is done illegally. When asked if permission is needed for the changes at the pub, the council confirmed it could not say any more as the matter is being looked into.

In response to an LDRS enquiry about new signage at the Oak Inn, the council said: "To date [18 November] no applications have been received for the works recently undertaken at the property. Officers have visited the site, and the matter is currently under investigation’."

This was still the case after we sent further questions today (19 November.) The LDRS also could not find any planning records for the new signage or removal of the pub's lettering in a search of the council's planning portal today.

We tried to contact the Oak Inn for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. The change comes just two months after the pub surrendered its licence, after repeated reports of noise nuisances had sparked a council review.

The venue is currently listed as "permanently closed" on Google Maps but is open according to a Facebook page for the pub.

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It's at least being used for something and not left to rot like so many others.