The Coach and Horses pub in Harrogate faces an uncertain future as its appeal against the decision to revoke its licence threatens to drag on.

Solicitors acting on behalf of landlord John Nelson sent the appeal to magistrates in early August.

No date or location for the hearing has been set and the situation may not change for several months as the courts struggle to deal with a backlog in cases.

Harrogate Justice Centre, which is likely to hear the appeal, told the Stray Ferret it did not currently have the capacity for any private prosecutions and did not know when this might change.

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Harrogate Borough Council revoked the pub’s licence in July after it showed a “blatant disregard” for coronavirus social distancing rules.

Mr Nelson was allegedly “aggressive and abusive” towards council officials and the police when they served him a prohibition notice on May 31.

A total of 449 people signed a petition calling on the council to give Mr Nelson’s daughter, Samantha Nelson, the licence to run the pub.

At the licensing sub-committee where the council revoked the licence, Mr Nelson’s lawyer Paddy Whur said his client “accepted he made a chronic error of judgement”.

The Stray Ferret has approached the Coach and Horses several times to inquire about its future. We had still not received a reply by the time of publication.

Harrogate Justice Centre has reopened today for the first time since lockdown to deal with a backlog in cases.

The centre, which encompasses both the Magistrates and County courts, is opening with social distancing guidelines in place.

From Monday to Wednesday this week it will solely deal with family law matters before it moves onto criminal matters on Thursday.

Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials have assessed Harrogate Justice Centre and approved it to hold socially-distanced hearings.

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The Harrogate Justice Centre has put out stickers to mark where people can queue at a safe distance and blocked off the waiting area outside.

Around 159 courts and tribunals service locations have remained open throughout the pandemic and close to 100 more have reopened since the start of April.

Stickers for socially distanced queues outside the court.

There is a major backlog in cases which has been made worse by the lockdown. There were 483,678 cases waiting in Magistrates courts and 40,526 cases waiting in Crown courts in May according to the Criminal Bar Association (CBA).

But Caroline Goodwin QC, who is chair of the CBA, said that the courts estate is “on its knees” and has been for a long time.

“It is pretty low really to suggest that the backlog which we know is a pre COVID-19 issue and practically has nothing to do with COVID-19 is in fact due to COVID-19. What we are facing is a culmination of mismanagement and years of starving the system of investment. We are not blind.”

The MOJ has also started to identify suitable venues to house so-called ‘Nightingale’ courts.

These would use public spaces, such as civic centres or university moot courts, to allow traditional court buildings to manage more work while maintaining social distancing.

Currently, Harrogate Justice Centre is not aware of any ‘Nightingale’ courts planned in its area.