From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Nicola Jordan, 3 February 2018.

Manager of City Wall Wine Bar in Rochester quits.

One of Rochester's most popular licensees is calling time because he is fed up with run-ins with Medway Council which has cost him thousands in legal fees.

Sanjay Raval, who has run the "City Wall" Wine Bar for nearly 20 years, has decided to leave after a long-running dispute about loud music.

There have also been complaints about customers talking loudly on the patio to the side of the popular venue.

Sanjay Raval, owner of the City Wall Wine Bar in High Street, Rochester.

Matters came to a head last month when Mr Raval was fined more than £4,000 by Medway magistrates for failing to comply with a noise abatement order.

With his solicitors’ costs, the final amount he had to pay out because of the case was about £20,000.

Mr Raval, who also manages the "Rising Sun" in Delce Road, Rochester, said: “Enough is enough. You can’t run a business like this.

“It is massively sad. I have made a lot of friends here and I’m very fond of the High Street.”

Mr Raval said that after the court case brought by Medway Council’s environmental protection team, he mulled over his future but eventually decided to quit after a career in the licensing trade spanning several decades.

He said: “I don’t really know what I am going to do. I plan to take some time out and perhaps go travelling.”

Mr Raval added that his workforce of about 30 people including DJs and door staff, would be offered alternative employment.

The 50-year-old, who lives in Almond Grove, Hempstead, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an abatement notice for loud amplified music and bass.

Medway Council told the court the council had received numerous complaints spanning from July 2013 to July 2017 regarding noise coming from the premises.

Despite undertaking steps to deal with the nuisance, the council continued to receive complaints from members of the public.

His solicitor Colin Pope told the hearing that the wine bar was in a very busy High Street with a night-time economy.

Live music was played at the pub next door and the Casino Rooms opposite attracted thousands of clubbers.

He added that no complaints has been made since at least November, which showed his client had taken steps in the right direction.

Magistrates fined him £2,000 and ordered him to pay costs of £2,000 and a victim surcharge of £175.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Keith Hunt, 19 January 2019.

City Wall in Rochester owner Sanjay Raval 'grabbed man around the throat' after breaking up disturbance.

A bar boss went out to break up a disturbance and ended up committing an assault, a court heard.

Sanjay Raval grabbed hold of Jake Swaisland around the throat and dumped him on the ground “like a sack of potatoes” outside "City Wall" Wine Bar in Rochester, it was alleged.

Mr Swaisland became unconscious and woke up on the ground covered in blood.

Maidstone Crown Court was told he had been with friends to the "City Wall," managed by 50-year-old Raval, on New Year’s Eve in 2017.

Mr Swaisland was across the road from the High Street bar shortly after midnight when Raval saw there was “some sort of disorder” starting, said prosecutor Ian Foinette.

“He went over and took hold of Mr Swaisland around his chest,” he told a jury.

“According to Mr Swaisland it was around his throat. It caused him to lose consciousness. He was dropped on the ground by Mr Raval.”

Mr Swaisland needed stitches around his left eye and he also had an injury to his mouth.

He told police he had been holding a cigarette for somebody else when Raval, who had run the bar for 20 years, went over and grabbed him.

Mr Foinette said CCTV showed Raval pulling Mr Swaisland backwards. Mr Swaisland appeared to go limp and Raval then dropped him like a sack of potatoes on the ground.

“He said he felt a choking sensation around his throat as he lost consciousness,” said Mr Foinette.

“He remembers waking up on the ground covered in blood. He went to the police station to complain.”

Mr Foinette told jurors they would have to decide if Raval, who also formerly managed the "Rising Sun" in Delce Road until he left in April last year, acted reasonably “by pulling him back by the throat and dumping him on the ground”.

Raval, of Almond Grove, Hempstead, denies assault causing actual bodily harm.

The trial continues.