Weston-super-Mare: Sass bar faces licence loss

Sass bar's licence will be discussed at a council meeting on Friday

A Somerset bar could lose its licence over "blatant drug use" on site.

The licence for Sass Barr on South Parade, Weston-super-Mare, will be discussed at a North Somerset Council licensing committee meeting on Friday.

A visit by officers from Avon and Somerset Police in 2022 found cocaine in the men's toilets, with reports of drinkers being offered the drug.

Police said they had "no confidence in the current business operation" and called for the licence to be revoked.

They said they had repeatedly tried to work with the licence holder in the past two and a half years but that it had "proved a frustrating process," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Complacent and unprofessional'

Other complaints came from a group of men who told police they had left the bar because they had repeatedly been approached by someone offering cocaine.

In addition to their drug concerns, police said there was "clear evidence that the door staff are complacent and unprofessional in their duties, by not enforcing age-related ID checks".

They also cited an incident where the fire doors were locked shut and could not be opened.

In a statement given to the council meeting, they said: "The police believe there can be no further conditions that can be offered to resolve the situation... as the police have no confidence in the current business operation due to breaches of the current conditions of the premise's licence.

"As a result of the recent developments the police therefore feel they have no options but to ask the committee to revoke the premise licence."