Ipswich pub The Waterlily, in St Helen’s Street, forced to shut after licence revoked

An Ipswich pub which officers believed was ‘under the control of serious, prominent criminals’ has been forced to shut after having its licence revoked.

Ipswich’s licensing and regulatory committee met today to discuss a review into the premises licence for The Waterlily, in St Helen’s Street.

Earlier this week, SuffolkNews reported that Suffolk Police had urged the authority to suspend the pub’s licence over repeated breaches and its links to crime.

Incidents included a stabbing, drug busts, assaults and the discovery of a weapon.

Since September 2022 The Waterlily has been under the ownership of Larry Graham, who has also held the licence since March this year. He leases the pub out to a tenant who manages the venue.

Mr Graham also owns The Function Rooms, in St Helen’s Street, and The Silver Star, in Vernon Street, which he has retained the licences for, despite them also being at risk during this meeting.

A closure order was placed on The Waterlily after three people were arrested at the site on October 19.

The full police report and details of other criminal incidents can be read here.

Sharon Betts-Palmer, licensing officer for Suffolk Police, said the force had ‘very grave concerns’ about the way the pub was being run.

These included anti-social behaviour, drugs and poor management of licensing conditions.

Among the evidence displayed to the committee was body cam footage from September 13, where staff and customers were seen verbally abusing officers conducting a licence check.

Officers attended the premises over concerns the pub was breaching its licence by serving alcohol past midnight – although the footage showed them turning up to the pub at 11.50pm, with the door being slammed in their faces.

However, Ms Betts-Palmer said they were spotted still serving alcohol at 12.10am when officers left.

Officers later attended The Waterlily on October 12 in greater numbers, due to concerns for safety. One customer was spotted with white powder on his nose.

A woman was the designated manager, but was only seen by officers once, the meeting heard, while two male managers were also referenced.

Summing up her evidence, Ms Betts-Palmer said: “Mr Graham has been warned and advised on numerous occasions but has taken little to no notice of these warnings.

“As the licence holder, he is responsible for the day-to-day running of the premises, so he cannot claim to be unaware of the issues.

“The violence and anti-social behaviour seen and people acting in a disorderly manner and the presence of children are also extremely concerning and can fairly be defined as a serious crime.

“Suffolk Police believe licensing laws have been failed and known, prominent criminals seem to be in control. In the eight years I’ve been a licensing officer, this is only the second time I’ve seen this happen.”

Cllr John Cook, who represents Alexandra Ward, raised concerns on behalf of residents.

He said, due to the nature of what was happening at The Waterlily, they feared reprisal if they showed up or gave their names.

In one statement, a resident said: “We and other nearby residents are significantly impacted by anti-social and illegal behaviour.

“I’ve lived in St Helen’s Street since 2018 and the issues have become far worse in the last few years, including loud music, shouting, fighting, inconsiderate parking, damage to property, litter and open drug taking and selling.

“Since the suspension, we’ve had no issues whatsoever.”

Another said residents had grown tired of the situation, referencing ‘continued aggressive behaviour and the daily burning of rubbish’.

When summing up, Cllr Cook asked Mr Graham if he felt he was ‘fit to run a licensed premises’ in light of the evidence.

Mr Graham said he never noticed issues and the pub seemed to be run in an orderly fashion. He also said everyone ‘would run away’ during his bi-weekly visits.

However, he admitted the way staff and customers at The Waterlily treated officers during the licensing check was ‘disgusting’.

He said: “It was late at night and those guys in question had been drinking and were in high spirits.

“I wasn't there myself but I could see what happened. It was disgusting how they treated the police and there’s not much I can say in defence of what they did.”

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