Central Government has made it quite clear that that it does not wish this legislation to be used by local authorities, against the public, Morris included, in this fashion. WPBC's officers have chosen to ignore this.

Local authorities such as WPBC also have equal responsibilities for cultural and human rights legislation that should prevent the 'tunnelled vision' enforcement of this Licensing legislation in isolation.

Try as one wants, it is certainly not possible to blame the conditions on outside entertainment that WPBC's officers have imposed on the Cove's PEL, on central Government? These conditions were not presented before any elected members of the council. The PEL hearing scheduled to discuss the application, being cancelled by the Licensing Manager at the very last minute.

These senseless conditions prevent any outside entertainment not just amplified music from taking place, except once in August?

These are entirely down to WPBC's officers not being able or willing to distinguish between entertainment, that may be a noise problem (amplified music) and entertainment that will not.

I must admit that I am now getting rather tired of the 'we are but just a poor little council' attitude or of hearing 'it's the law and we must enforce it' or even the 'it's your fault for bringing it to their attention' attitude.

The one and only advert appeared in the local paper on the 7th December when the first session took place. It was not placed again because the officers visited the very next day, to 'encourage' the licensee to obtain a PEL. According to WPBC's officer's own account, this 'encouragement' took place, even though the session had not yet been witnessed to ascertain its nature or the number of musicians involved.

Oh yes, the 'encouragement' to which the officers refer in their report, is a letter threatening the Licensee with a possible £20.000 fine or six months in prison. This being just an example of the 'spin' contained in a report claimed to be objective advice to enable members to make policy.

WPBC's officers have had plenty of opportunity at each stage to consider the full effect and implications of their actions and to consider alternatives, it is to their lasting shame that they chose to pursue this with such certainty and apparent zeal. They are charged with the public's interest, it is difficult to see how their actions in this sad episode can have been in anyone's interests?