A PUB in Winton has kept its alcohol licence after agreeing to strict new conditions, including closing earlier.

Concerns had been raised by Dorset Police about the “lack of control” a succession of managers had had over customers at The Talbot in Wimborne Road.

And following a meeting of a BCP Council licensing sub-committee, its owner, EI Group, has agreed to more strict conditions to its licence meaning it cannot open beyond midnight.

The licence review was requested by Dorset Police which said the pub had been “mismanaged”, with a series of violent incidents and “significant disorder” dating back to June 2018.

But between this and last month’s meeting of councillors to consider it, a series of conditions were agreed between the two sides.

Police licensing officer Gareth Gosling said he hoped the changes would “make a significant difference” to the running of the pub.

“We have engaged very well with the representatives of The Talbot to try and seek a set of conditions that we feel would deal with our concerns,” he said.

“We feel there are some that will make a significant difference in improving the safety and security at the premises.

“There’s an element of trust here and we take the intention of the licence holder to make improvements at face value and we do sincerely hope that there will be significant improvements.”

The conditions included limiting opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays to midnight and that registered security staff be on the door after 5pm.

Mr Gosling said the pub would be monitored closely to ensure improvements are made.

Richard Taylor, EI Group’s legal representative, said they had worked “very hard” to address the concerns raised by the police.

“We took on board the criticism of the designated premises supervisor and we acted on that and removed him,” he said.

“We agreed the hours very early on and incorporated the conditions [the council’s licensing department] wanted as well.”

Despite criticism from councillor George Farquhar of the “litany of failings” at the pub, councillors agreed the new conditions to the pub’s licence.

The sub-committee’s decision was made in April but was not made public until the minutes of the meeting were published.