ASKERN Town Council have been accused of dispensing booze ILLEGALLY to residents – by the town's Community PC!

And Alexander House, the council's prestigious headquarters, that houses its bar, was also built ILLEGALLY, a stunned meeting of the town council was told.

PC Stewart Brookes and town councillor Howard Connell launched a bitter blast at the council – in the ongoing row over the Shakers booze ban.

They are furious that the council pressed to have an 83-year-old covenant enforced, on the new 'pub with no beer' – to ensure NO alcohol whatever can be consumed there.

But PC Brookes left the meeting flustered when he revealed that Alexander House – which has been selling alcohol from its in-house bar for YEARS – is prohibited by the same covenant!

And Coun Connell followed up by claiming: "Alexander House was itself built illegally on Coal Authority land..." before turning to council chairman Frank Jackson and adding "...I know this is getting uncomfortable, Frank".

At one point the debate had to be suspended for a 15-minute 'cooling-off' period.

And the town council admitted that lawyers are now considering the legal position of alcohol at Alexander House.

A curse upon all of your houses!

PC Brookes opened the booze debate, in the public session at the end of the October town council meeting, taking issue with Coun Frank Jackson's chairman's column in last month's Askern Newsletter.

PC Brookes explained that he is a board member of the Shakers project, and said: "We have never applied to or intended to sell alcohol at Shakers.

"The sustainability of Shakers is vital for this community, and the consumption of alcohol is vital to Shakers for private functions... so that people can let the building and consume their own alcohol."

He said the building would be used for adult functions, aside from its use as a youth centre.

And he added: "The reason I brought this up tonight is that I was appalled that Askern Town Council would think that I, as the local police officer, would be involved in a place that would encourage young people to drink alcohol. It's not about that at all".

Referring to the 1925 covenant barring alcohol from the site, PC Brookes said: "That covenant applies to Askern Town Council, just as it applies to Shakers. The covenant you have imposed on us is also imposed on yourselves because no alcohol is to be consumed on this land!".

Coun Jackson said: "Representation was made to this council to consume alcohol in the Shakers building. The council decided that it did not approve.

"We then approached, through our solicitor, the coal authority and asked them to enforce the covenant and they have accepted that.

"Askern Town Council has no legal standing in putting a covenant on you."

But a furious Coun Connell accused the council of jeopardising £100,000 worth of funding for the project by introducing the covenant issue, literally as building work was to begin on Shakers.

He said the hitch was thrown in, as the deadline arrived for funders Objective 1 to wind up their business.

And he said angrily: "We were faced with a choice – either agree to this or lose £100,000 that we have to fund it.

"The funders were not happy about it. We were held to ransom by Askern Town Council."

Coun Connell said: "Our solicitor told us 'Askern Town Council are putting a covenant on Shakers saying we can't consume alcohol in the building. They have no legal or moral right to do so – they have been in breach of a covenant themselves... for years'. The lawyer felt this should be strongly resisted".

Coun Janet Hewitt said: "I am appalled that this was brought up in 'any other business'. I think it should have been at a special meeting".

And Coun Jackson denied that the council had put the Shakers funding at risk.

Coun George Gracey pointed out: "When this application first started, the kids at Campsmount said they wanted 'a pub with no beer'".

After the meeting, Coun Jackson said the matter was being looked at by the council's solicitors.

Coun Connell said later: "It's a matter of high farce that two Shakers members pushing for this are teetotal, and another is a local bobby who spends his time taking alcohol off youngsters.

"This issue is nothing to do with the 'pub with no beer'."

And he went on to claim that on the other side, was a town council that lets its Alexander House function room out for free, if its bar IS used – but levies a charge if the bar is NOT wanted!

And there's more...

ASKERN Town Council paid no Council Tax for SEVEN YEARS on Alexander House... because Doncaster Council did NOT know of its existence, a town councillor has claimed!

And Coun Howard Connell has revealed that the monument to former Askern and Doncaster councillor, Alex Grimson, STILL doesn't exist on the Land Registry's records.

Coun Connell said he made the amazing discoveries while researching the covenants on the land relating to his Shakers project, which sits at the back of the town council headquarters.

And he said: "Just how a building gets built in this fashion amazes me. Where was the planning permission?".

He explained to the Newsletter: "The land was sold by Mappins brewery, to the Miners' Welfare in 1925 – with a covenant on it, forbidding
alcohol consumption.

"The Welfare members abided by that – they would hold their meetings in the old Hydro there, then go to the White Hart or Red Lion for their drinks."

After problems with subsidence, the site was eventually sold to the National Coal Board, and the current Welfare was built, in the
sixties he said.

After that, the coal authority gave the land to "the people of Askern" in a unique "Deed of Dedication".

But he told Askern Town Council's meeting: "The deed of dedication said this land was given for public open space – and NOT for building on".

Paul Hart, Doncaster Council's Managing Director, confirmed: "Askern Town Council notified Doncaster Council in June 2004, that they had occupied the Alexander House premises since September 1997.

"This information was immediately reported to the Valuation Office Agency".