PUBS and clubs which fail to pay their yearly licence fees can now be barred from trading in Worcester.

New Government legislation means that pubs which avoid paying yearly charges to town halls can have their licences suspended.

A total of 80 pubs and clubs in Worcester currently owe the city council £23,000 dating back over a period of several years.

Worcester City Council’s licensing committee has agreed to formally adopt the powers and has instructed officers to monitor the situation.

Every pub and club in the city pays an annual fee anywhere from £70 to £1,050 depending on the size of the property and the nature of its activities.

Before now pubs which ignored the demand could carry on trading while local authorities attempted to get the money via the civil courts.

Niall McMenamin, of the council’s licensing department, said: “We are not trying to hide anything and will do our hardest to notify licence holders.”

Councillor Gareth Jones said: “If they don’t pay the fees and are then in breach of the rules, what enforcement action do we carry out?”

Mr McMenamin said: “We will have to suspend their licence and if they continue to trade after that it will be an offence.

“Ultimately, that would mean taking it to the magistrates court and the biggest punishment is six months in jail or a £25,000 fine.

“We’re not trying to prosecute people at all, but anyone who intends to ignore it would be foolish to do so.”

At the moment very few licensed premises forget to pay their annual fee. Those that do are sent an automatic reminder in the post, but until now ignoring it did not carry the risk of being shut down.

Councillor Paul Denham, chairman of the licensing committee, said: “At the end of the day it’s no different to paying your annual car tax – if you don’t pay that you risk being prosecuted.”

The committee agreed to give officers powers to suspend licenses, with full council voting it through unanimously on Tuesday. Pub landlord Colin Kenwrick, who runs the Berkeley Arms, School Road, St John’s, said: “We’ve always paid it, but you can see why some people forget. It’s just another bill that comes in the post.

“If you ask me, they should lump it all into one and add it to the business rates to make it simpler.”