Neil Wilby Media

A Lancashire Constabulary sergeant has emerged from a bruising licensing hearing with his reputation in tatters, he claims, after a top-tier barrister tore apart his objections to a new McDonald’s fast food outlet in Chorley’s Clayton-le-Woods.

Sergeant John Lovick, a veteran of licensing battles across the county, faced off against Leo Charalambides—one of the UK’s leading licensing law experts—over whether the fast-food giant could operate until midnight in the Chorley North policing area.

Despite Sgt Lovick’s decades of experience, the Chorley Council’s licensing sub-committee approved the licence on 2^nd April 2025, leaving the officer reeling from a legal mauling that exposed his preparation as no match for Charalambides’ forensic precision.

The clash unfolded in a sparsely attended but eye-catchingly ornate committee ante-room at Chorley’s Civic Offices, a setting captured on the Council’s YouTube channel, for all to see, at this weblink.

There, Sgt Lovick—top left in the footage, sporting a well-grown beard—and Charalambides—top right, also bearded but outdone in that minor skirmish by Lovick’s hipster style—faced off in a battle that was less about crowds and more about cutting words.

Charalambides, a Kings Chambers stalwart with nearly 30 years at the Bar, accused Lovick of ‘bias’, ‘inconsistency’, and leaning on ‘shaky evidence’. Charges that left the sergeant feeling “besmirched.”

Whilst Lovick’s career is steeped in policing the fallout from late-night venues, his stumble against a barrister who represents industry titans such as McDonald’s and Wetherspoons, has sparked these questions: Did experience bow to expertise, or was this a case of a copper caught off-guard?

A Midnight Fight in Clayton-le-Woods

The battleground was a derelict plot in Clayton-le-Woods, once home to the Beaumont pub, gone the way of so many post-COVID, and now earmarked for a McDonald’s drive-through. The proposal promises jobs and revival but has stirred local unease—61% of 464 planning consultation respondents opposed it, mainly citing traffic and antisocial behaviour fears.

Last week’s committee hearing, chaired by Cllr Matthew Lynch (Labour – Chorley North-West) honed in on one sticking point: Midnight operating hours.

For Sgt Lovick, based at Leyland Police Station and a fixture in local policing, this was a red line. He cited 43 callouts over two years to March 2025 at Chorley’s Clifford Street McDonald’s—14 emergencies, with over half nuisance-related—warning of a 30% rise in trouble if the new site followed suit.

Sgt Lovick didn’t stop at stats. He accused McDonald’s of “deceitful” intent, suggesting midnight was a Trojan horse for 24-hour bids, and slammed their community outreach as a bid to “crush” dissent. It was a bold play, rooted in years of tackling unruly premises, but it opened the door for Charalambides to strike.

The barrister, called to the Bar in 1995 and a licensing law luminary, came armed with a razor-sharp rebuttal. He called Lovick’s deceit claims “staggering,” demanding evidence that never came. “I just think the officer has a problem with McDonald’s—and it’s personal,” Charalambides said, urging Councillors to “run a mile” from advice he branded a biased tirade.

The Sergeant’s Record Meets Its Match

 John Lovick is no stranger to the licensing fray. In June 2024, he spearheaded a review of The Stag pub in Leyland after a fatal incident, decrying absent CCTV that hampered the ensuing police investigation—a sign of his dogged focus on safety. Back in 2013, he took on Preston’s Best One newsagent over underage booze sales, cementing a reputation as a guardian against licensed chaos.

In Clayton-le-Woods, he leaned on that record, arguing fast-food outlets can rival pubs for trouble—Clifford Street, he said, outdid any local watering hole in police callouts. His logic: Late hours breed risk, and overstretched Chorley North couldn’t take the strain.

But where the licensing officer saw patterns, Charalambides saw holes. With a CV boasting decades of high-stakes wins for corporate giants, the barrister dissected Lovick’s case with surgical flair. He dismissed the sergeant’s Clifford Street stats as “general evidence” about a “wide area,” irrelevant to this specific site. Lovick’s praise of “robust” rules at Foxhole Road’s McDonald’s—90% akin to Clayton-le-Woods’—jarred with his calling the new site’s conditions “vague,” a contradiction Charalambides pounced upon.

“McDonald’s hasn’t faced a late-night licence review anywhere in the UK in a decade”, he added, undercutting Lovick’s doom-laden forecast. “Generic” and “unrelated,” Charalambides called it—terms that left Lovick’s preparation looking thin.

A Barrister’s Edge Over Boots on the Ground

The pedigree of the lesser-bearded Leo Charalambides definitely gave him the upper hand. The sergeant’s data and gut instincts, honed over years, faltered under the barrister’s relentless submissions, revealing a gap in readiness that turned experience into a liability.

Lovick’s post-hearing lament—“besmirched”—captured the sting. He’d walked in with a copper’s conviction, only to be outgunned by counsel who made his objections look flimsy, even petty. Charalambides didn’t just defend McDonald’s; he dismantled Lovick’s credibility, painting him as a man with an axe to grind rather than a protector with proof. The sub-committee’s approval suggests the barrister’s onslaught landed, sidelining Lovick’s warnings, despite his track record.

McDonald’s Reputation as Silent Ally

McDonald’s national image—presented as clean, efficient, a staple of British life—hovered quietly behind the fray. Most see its outlets as orderly hubs, not trouble spots, a perception built on decades of consistency. That sheen likely bolstered Charalambides’ case, softening local fears voiced in the 61% surveyed opposition. Residents, echoing Lovick, worried about “lawlessness” like that seen at other Chorley branches, as Councillor Michelle Beach (Labour – Clayton East) noted in November 2024. But McDonald’s wasn’t pushing for 24 hours—just midnight—and Charalambides leaned on their clean slate to dismiss Lovick’s stats as an anomaly.

The licence was voted through, a win for McDonald’s and a bruising loss for Lancashire Constabulary. The sub-committee’s full reasoning awaits publication on Chorley Council’s website, but Charalambides’ mastery seems to have tipped the scales. For the chain, it’s a foothold in Clayton-le-Woods, with jobs and local buzz to follow. For Lovick, viewed objectively, it’s a minor dent in a career that’s weathered plenty—though not, until now, a barrister of this calibre.

Aftermath and Open Questions

The fallout lingers. Sgt Lovick’s sense of tarnish hints at resentment, while the 61% opposition shows a community, at the very least, apprehensive. Will midnight spark the chaos he predicted, stretching police thin? Or will McDonald’s, as it often does, keep things tight? The decision could echo beyond Chorley North, shaping how other late-night bids are judged locally.

For now, it’s a tale of two titans: a sergeant’s broadsword experience, poorly aimed on this occasion, versus a barrister’s specialist expertise, wielded like a rapier. As Clayton-le-Woods braces for its new neighbour, Lovick’s words—and Charalambides’ triumph—hang in the air, a clash where preparation, not just pedigree, proved king.

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