‘Horror’ pub in Bristol that council tried to shut down is ‘temporarily closed’

A pub that Bristol City Council tried unsuccessfully to shut down appears to have closed temporarily.

Metal shutters have been installed on the windows and door at The Bull Inn, in Crews Hole.

Councillors revoked the premises licence two years ago after being told it had flouted covid rules and caused neighbours “absolute sheer terror and horror”.

But the local authority backed down after the pub launched an appeal to magistrates and reinstated its right to serve alcohol before it went to a costly court hearing, despite the fact the application to remove its licence came from City Hall’s own neighbourhood enforcement team backed by the police.

There is no notice at the boozer to explain what is happening but its listing on Google says it is “temporarily closed”.

No one answered when the Local Democracy Reporting Service called on Friday, October 6.

Residents said the metal shutters appeared this week and that there was a vehicle in the car park a few days ago but no signs of life since.

A panel of councillors agreed in March 2022 to rescind the sub-committee’s ruling and restore the premises licence with additional conditions following legal advice.

The original hearing was told there had been an escalation in antisocial behaviour and noise and that Avon & Somerset Police spent a disproportionate amount of time dealing with complaints about disorder, nuisance, alleged threats to cut throats and reports of mass brawls.

Officers said management was rude and swore at them when they attended incidents, while music was turned up after residents complained about noise.

But regulars submitted a petition saying their “much-loved community pub” should be saved, while managers insisted they were the victims of false and malicious reports to police of dozens of people fighting and that police had found no evidence of a disturbance.