Bar licence suspended after shisha found on site

A city centre bar has had its licence suspended temporarily after shisha was found at the premises on three separate occassions.

Thirst Bar on Park End Street, Oxford, was investigated by Trading Standards, who found evidence that the bar had been used to store and supply illegal tobacco products.

On Monday Oxford City Council's licensing committee ruled the venue should lose its licence until 23 January.

A representative of Spirit Bar Ltd, which runs the premises, said the shisha was being provided by a third party, and had "nothing to do with Thirst".

In a formal inspection in March, Trading Standards seized 8kg of non-duty paid waterpipe tobacco that was left in an unlocked cupboard.

A representative from trading standards told the council that none of the waterpipes had any of the statutory health warnings, and that it was "clear from the labelling alone that the items had been smuggled".

Officers visited the site in August 2024 and were told by a member of staff that no shisha was being kept or sold there, and that the waterpipes were only for hire for customers to provide their own tobacco.

Shisha was also seized from the premises in 2019 and 2020.

There were also posts on the official Thirst social media pages showing people with shisha and advertisements for the tobacco in the bar.

A mitigation statement on behalf of Thirst said the operator "deeply regrets the oversight and understands the importance of strict compliance with all licensing, health, and smoking legislation".

It added: "The involvement of a third-party shisha provider arose from a genuine misunderstanding of the legal requirements and restrictions associated with indoor smoking and health regulations.

"At no time did the operator knowingly or deliberately seek to circumvent licensing conditions or public health legislation."

The bar has stopped operating shisha permanently, and voluntarily closed its doors for two weeks "to demonstrate the operator's learning" going forward.

The licensing committee introduced number of conditions for when it reopens, including that no tobacco or herbal smoking products stored sold or supplied, no waterpipes to be available to be used on the premise, that the social media posts including shisha should be deleted and that all staff should get training.

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