Ok, so you've read all the rest: but what makes Pembrokeshire County Council hate Thomas Sinclair and Evolution so much? Read on...

Thomas Sinclair used to by the Council's golden boy. His father is a County Councillor and his mother is a manager working for the County Council. So how is it then that one minute Pembrokeshire County Council were 110% behind Evolution Experience events, assisting in any way they could, but then suddenly they were seathing?

The application for Chequers nightclub was the basis for the turn in the tide. Perhaps this extract from Thomas Sinclair's application for a Public Entertainment Licence for the Penally premises may be of help in letting you reach your own conclusions:

Such is the enormity of this application I have decided to write a foreword in order I may introduce the submission and my reasoning behind what I have included. Although voluminous, the content is all relevant, in as much as it highlights the scale of the `civil conspiracy` [1] surrounding Chequers, which has already seen one man wrongly jailed, put many out of work, and cost the taxpayer millions of pounds[2].

I have been involved in the Licensed trade since 1997. I have run my own events, been party to many applications for public entertainment licenses and am on first name terms with Pembrokeshire County Council`s licensing team who know me very well. I have been the Managing Director of Evolution Event Promotions Limited for a number of years as well as having a role in the application for Gigawatt `98 as event manager.

I have sat in front of the licensing committee previously as the advisor to Mr Bill Davies, managing director of Music Live Limited who was subsequently granted a Public Entertainment Licence, despite many objections, for an outdoor music concert spanning two days[3].

I have also worked behind the bar in a number of licensed premises both in Pembrokeshire and beyond. I currently hold a BIIAB certificate[4] in respect of both the Justice`s On-Licence and Entertainment Licensing to Level 2.

Despite my first major attempt at promoting a licensed event was unsuccessful when Gigawatt `98 was turned down after police objections I have always had a good relationship with both Mr Tony Davies, licensing officer for Dyfed Powys Police and the various members of the licensing team at Pembrokeshire County Council, namely Alan Williams, Sarah Oliver and Gareth Watts.

As one can imagine, being the Managing Director of Pembrokeshire`s best known promotions company means being in contact with these people constantly and in dealing with them a level of mutual trust develops.

In April 2002 I had to make the biggest decision of my life. I knew that the market was bottoming out of large-scale events largely due to the closure of the ITV Digital call centre in Pembroke Dock, so I decided to look at alternatives. This is something that any sensible business individual would do.

During my enquiries I came across Principality Taverns Limited. The Managing Director of which was Mr Carl Ryan of Milford Haven. He informed me that Principality Taverns Limited were buying the lease for the Chequers Country Club in Penally, and he asked if I would be interested in managing the premises due to my `considerable experience` in both retail management and the club scene[5]. I agreed. It was only a few days after that when I was sitting in Eddies Snooker and Social Club in Haverfordwest when Mr Tony Davies and Mrs Sarah Oliver came in to discuss opening an arcade with the licensee Cllr Mark Edwards. As I was there I took the opportunity to speak with Mr Davies and Mrs Oliver about the Evolution Experience event, promoted my company, Evolution Event Promotions Limited, on 11th May at the County Show Ground.

I mentioned the application for Chequers to Mrs Oliver and Mr Davies. They seemed shocked to put it mildly Mr Davies said, and Mrs Oliver concurred that if I got involved with Mr Ryan then I would be ``burning my bridges`` and that it would be a “very bad move”. Mr Davies went on to explain that if I applied for the Entertainment License and I was found to be `unfit and proper` that I would not be able to apply for a license for another `5 years` until my `unfitness expires`. I was shocked. I explained to them that any decisions that I would make would be strictly professional and that I could not base my judgement on the opinion of these licensing officers - Especially when Mr Davies had already warned me in March 2001 that ``Carl Ryan was bad news``. I also understood at the time from reading The Milford Mercury that Carlco Limited, also directed by Mr Ryan, was pursuing Mr Davies for damages for alleged misfeasance in public office. I just ignored Mr Davies and Mrs Oliver`s comments as not being impartial and proceeded with the application.[6]

If was after this had happened that I acquired a copy of the book Dafydd and Goliath written by the previous licensee of Chequers, Mr Dafydd Gittins[7]. Mr Gittins, as I know now, is a well-known businessman and former chairman of the CBI in mid-Wales and a founding director of the Powys TEC. As well as being a past Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidate, Mr Gittins was managing director of The Welsh Whisky Company and United Clubs (Wales) Limited. He was the co-licensee of Chequers Night Club until its forced closure in 1997.

It was my interest in Mr Gittins` book relating to the forced closure of Chequers and his wrongful imprisonment, which has inspired me to dig deeper into the reasons why this club has closed, and why there is so much animosity from the statutory authorities towards the nightclub.

It seems like the worst case scenario: applying for an Entertainment License for a premises that the officers do not want open[8], when the Managing Director of the lease holding company is suing the police licensing officer for millions of pounds in damages. I almost expected to have problems every step of the way, and it is the challenge that has kept me going.

I have dedicated every day of six months of my life to this application and have left no stone unturned and no scrap of evidence overlooked. I have prepared some pretty hefty applications in my time, Gigawatt, Music Live etc, but I knew that this one was going to top all of those.

What I present to the Members of the Licensing Committee today is my very best submission based on that research. A documented proof that Chequers Club in Penally, Pembrokeshire was;

1.   Wrongly closed in the first place after nearly 40 years of trading with little or no problems;

2.   Has been the subject of a campaign from the local statutory authorities to keep it closed;

3.   That this campaign was lead by individuals who are currently subject to legal action in the highest courts in the land[9];

4.   The club, once renovated, will be completely safe and not be of any disturbance to the surrounding area;

5.   That I, Thomas H Sinclair Jnr, am fit and proper to run a nightclub of this size, and that I have all relevant qualifications/experience and more.

6.   That every step of the way I have had to deal with delaying tactics, the loosing of application forms, petty legal arguments and lies[10].

I, and others, believe that this is the single most important application that Members of the Licensing Sub-Committee have ever had to deal with. The outcome of this application will be fundamental to the Sub-Committee`s attitude towards the way in which the Authority has dealt with this application from start to finish.

In this report, as well as my submissions, Members will read the comments of the County Council and the Police who are both opposed to the application due to their obvious alternative agenda[11]. In my responses to their submissions I will demonstrate that their arguments are frivolous, petty, and unfortunately in some cases derisory

Lastly, anything in this document outside of this foreword is not printed unless it can be supported by evidence to show that it is fact and not opinion.

After five years of relationship building I am sad to say that I have now entirely lost my faith in both the Police and County Council`s licensing departments and now leave this application in your capable hands for determination.

WHY DOES THE COUNCIL HATE THOMAS SINCLAIR? READ ON!

Principality Taverns Limited