Hailsham Pub Licence Surrendered Ahead Of Police Hearing
- Huw Oxburgh LDR
- 12 hours ago
- 1 min read
A Hailsham pub has surrendered its licence following concerns from Sussex Police about violence linked to the premises.
The Railway Tavern in Station Road had been due to face a licensing review on Thursday (October 2), after police called for its licence to be revoked. They said landlord Phillip Ashby had “lost control” of the pub, which they linked to a number of violent incidents over the past year.
But before the hearing resumed, councillors were told Mr Ashby had voluntarily handed back the licence with immediate effect. As a result, police withdrew their application.
The pub has been closed since August, when Mr Ashby suffered serious injuries during an incident outside the premises.
At the time, he posted on Facebook that The Railway Tavern was not expected to reopen under his ownership.
Mr Ashby, who had held the licence since 2017, disputed police claims in a statement to the council, saying staff had acted to defuse trouble and remove problem customers.