A RUTHIN nightclub which was closed down last month after an emergency application by the police has been told it must stay shut.
Members of Denbighshire County Council's licensing sub-committee last Wednesday ruled the licence of V2, formerly known as The Venue, be revoked due to serious crime and disorder.
Their decision came after they viewed CCTV footage of a brawl which occurred on the premises on June 13, during which two of the door supervisors were injured, one was glassed in the face.
Four days after that incident an expedited review of the licence was held at the request of North Wales Police and the licence was suspended.
The licence had already been revoked at the end of May, but the club had remained open pending an appeal to magistrates.
That appeal is expected to be heard on July 26 and, if it is successful, the premises will re-open.
According to police witnesses, the fighting involved up to 50 people and the supervisors totally lost control of the situation, but nightclub manager Claire Lock put the figure at five to eight.
Licensing Barrister Sarah Clover, representing owners Birch House Business Centre Ltd, which owns the nightclub, said the trouble started when one man was thrown out and his friends were unhappy about it.
She said it was unfair to hold the current owners, who took over in September, responsible for the numerous problems which had occurred over the past 15 years.
She described the fight as a "one-off" as the 325 people in the club that night included two very specific groups, football fans who had earlier been watching the England v USA World Cup match and a large group of non-local people who had been attending a sheep shearing competition.
She said the shearers racially abused the door supervisors, who were from Merseyside, calling them "Scouse c***s" and taunted English clubbers by chanting "USA, USA."
Ms Clover said the new owners were introducing measures, like alley gates and a taxi service, to eradicate the long-standing anti social behaviour problems at closing time and should be given time.
She claimed closing the club down would not resolve the problems as anyone could come along in future and apply for a new licence.
"The problem is geographical, as V2 is situated in a place where people have to go through a residential area to reach it," she said.
Police said in the early hours of June 13 people caused trouble in other parts of the town after leaving V2 but committee chairman Councillor Ian Gunning said there was no firm evidence they were linked.
In revoking the licence he said it was clear from CCTV footage the management had failed to take appropriate action during the violent outbreak, that customers had been allowed to re-enter the premises while the disturbance was taking place and that was after the official closing time.
Cllr Gunning said: "The current management is simply not doing enough to promote the objectives of the Licensing Act," he said.
A spokesman for Birch House Business Centre said: "We do not accept the facts as presented in the application and are appealing the decision. An investigation is still being carried out by police into the seriousness of the disorder on June 13."