Pub at risk as canopy row ends in £27k court bill

George and Andrea Kemp were found guilty of failing to comply with a listed building enforcement notice

The owners of a popular pub said they may close after a court handed them a £27,000 bill for failing to remove a canopy they built in order to operate during the pandemic.

George and Andrea Kemp, who own the Grade II listed Lifeboat Inn in Maryport, Cumbria, were found guilty of failing to comply with an enforcement notice by Cumberland Council.

Workington Magistrates court imposed on each of the owners a £10,000 fine, a £2,000 surcharge and £1,382.74 costs at a hearing on Friday.

Following the sentence, Cumberland Council said it had made "repeated attempts to resolve the issue" before prosecuting the couple.

Speaking outside court, Mr Kemp, who has owned the pub for 19 years, said: "It's absolutely disgusting what we've been dealt with.

"We're a small family business, working hard 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

He said he was "amazed at the fine", which they have been given 56 days to pay.

"[It's going to have an ] absolutely huge impact, with 20 well-paid staff and their jobs severely at risk now," Mr Kemp said.

The canopy was built during the pandemic, to allow the pub to serve customers outside

Magistrates heard the canopy had been installed during the pandemic when rules only allowed pubs to serve customers outside.

Geraldine McDonald, prosecuting, said the pub was on Shipping Brow, part of Maryport's conservation area.

This meant any work to the building required special permission which the Kemps had not secured.

Old address

The court heard three council enforcement notices were sent to Mr and Mrs Kemp via Royal Mail recorded delivery in April 2022.

Two were sent to an address at Ellen Wharf, Maryport, which was the one recorded with the Land Registry for the ownership of the Lifeboat Inn, and one was sent to the pub's address.

Mr Kemp, 69, had told the court the couple's defence centred around not having any knowledge of the notices and the couple had not lived at Ellen Wharf for 12 years.

Mr Kemp said the Lifeboat Inn in Maryport had been praised in a Daily Mail feature

He said the letters' delivery notice had been signed with an X and that he had never had sight of the documents.

Under questioning by Mrs McDonald, Mr Kemp admitted sending an email to council planners on 20 April 2022 in which he acknowledged receiving the enforcement notice that had been sent to the pub.

Mrs McDonald said the landlords had "financially benefitted" from the canopy as it had allowed them to accommodate more people into their pub.

Sunset views

Mr Kemp told the court the pub had been a "success story" and had had a £1.2m turnover last year.

"[The canopy] doesn't look ugly, we get comments from people as to how nice it is to sit and watch the sunset," he told the court.

"This will probably end up closing our business - it's a disaster."

He said the canopy was not a fixed structure and he could "remove it in an hour" if he had to.

Mrs Kemp refused to give evidence, with Mr Kemp saying she was "very nervous".

Mr Kemp said his customers enjoyed the sunset views across the harbour from the pub's outside area.

Andrew Dale, chairman of the magistrates hearing the case, told Mr and Mrs Kemp that when deciding on the penalty, the panel had considered the length of non-compliance with the enforcement notice and that the couple had benefitted financially.

Mr Kemp told the court he felt the penalty was "excessive".

After the hearing, a Cumberland Council spokesman said: "We are pleased with the outcome of the court case."