Smokers hit by seven screws ban

A pub landlord who put up a gazebo to provide shelter for smokers has been threatened with a £20,000 fine if he fails to take it down –because seven screws holding it to the ground means he needs planning permission.

Robin Watson put up the structure – which planners say is a marquee – at the back of the Shoulder of Mutton pub in York when the smoking ban came into force last year.

It has no walls, but council planners say that because the poles are screwed to pieces of concrete to stop it blowing away it needs planning permission.



The structure has been a hit with smokers at the pub in Heworth Green, although Mr Watson said trade has still dropped since the introduction of the smoking ban last July.

"We put the screws down one side to hold it down so it won't blow away but the council were claiming it was a permanent structure and said we had to take it down," he said.

"It just seems whatever we do we have somebody complaining about something."