Former 'nuisance' pub allowed to open as new bar

The Pendulum had its licence revoked in 2022 after it was accused of being a "hub for criminal activity and base for human trafficking" by West Midlands Police

A former "nuisance" pub in Wolverhampton will be allowed to open as a new bar and grill.

The Pendulum in Blaydon Road, Pendeford, will reopen under new owner Tajinder Singh after it was granted an alcohol licence by the City of Wolverhampton Council following a hearing on Friday.

The pub had its licence revoked in 2022 after it was accused of being a "hub for criminal activity and base for human trafficking" by West Midlands Police.

This had followed the pub losing its licence after breaking Covid lockdown restrictions in 2020 by continuing to open to the public.

The council's licensing committee ruled the renovated pub would be allowed to reopen from 07:00 to 23:30 BST every day as the new Penedulum Bar and Grill.

A number of neighbours had objected to a proposed later weekend closing time, saying they had been subjected to noise and disorder in recent years. They claimed there had been a catalogue of issues with one fed-up neighbour calling for the pub to be demolished to end their misery.

The new owner, Tajinder Singh, who also owns a string of pubs including the Jolly Sailor and the Railway Inn in West Bromwich, Port N Ale in Tipton and the Firs in Wolverhampton, had originally applied to open until 01:00 BST at weekends but agreed to bring the bar and grill's closing time forward after speaking with police and neighbours.

The new owners assured the committee that alcohol would not be served before 11:00 and agreed for that to be reflected in the proposal for a new licence.

At the hearing, the new owners said they would cease licensable activities – which included the sale of alcohol – at 23:00 and then close at 23:30.

They said they intended to extend this to midnight at weekends, bank holidays and during Diwali, but the licensing committee refused to grant this.

A handful of neighbours had withdrawn their objections based on a promise that the pub would close at 23:00.