A PUB in Chipping Sodbury has had its license changed so it can avoid prosecution for the entertainment it provides on an evening.

The Portcullis on the High Street reopened under new management in 2018 after an incredible £125,000 refurbishment project.

The pub had been known to have issues before, but under new landlord Edward Febry the reputation of the Portcullis has turned around.

South Gloucestershire Council had received a number of complaints from residents regarding noise from the pub before the new management took over, but these have since stopped.

Now though the pub has applied for a change in its licensing so that Mr Febry would not be prosecuted as a result of a clause in its original licensing condition.

The clause prevented music from going above a background level.

On the advice of an officer, he applied to have the condition removed so the pub could continue to hold ‘discos’ without breaching the condition.

A licensing committee heard the case on Tuesday, February 4.

“No residents objected to the application, which also sought to extend the pub’s opening hours, I am not worried about noise,” she said.

Mr Febry said the Portcullis, that now serves as a hotel as well, had been ‘mismanaged for years’.

“It had not been managed correctly for years and years and we want to turn it into a nice family pub,” he said.

Mr Febry also explained how the pub had stopped hosting live bands to be more considerate to nearby residents.

The committee agreed to remove the condition for music from the licence, but added restrictions.

This includes a noise-limiting device must be used to ‘prevent unreasonable disturbance to occupiers in the vicinity’.

Members also agreed the pub can stay open until 2am seven days a week but Mr Febry said the pub would only stay open until this time on Friday and Saturday nights.

Music must stop playing by 10.30pm on Sundays, midnight on Mondays through Wednesdays, and 1.30am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Mr Febry, who originally applied to stay open until 3am, seven days a week, said: “We need the weekend trade because that is vital to keeping it [the hotel] open.”

Mr Febry is a director of John and Rita Leisure Ltd, which owns both the Portcullis Hotel and the Royal Oak pub in Chipping Sodbury.

He is the grandson of John and Rita Hinder, whose descendants have run both pubs at various times over their history.