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| Landmark club closed for good |
THE future of one of London’s legendary nightclubs has been
thrown into doubt after a judge backed police concerns that levels
of violence had gone out of control.
Evidence of a double shooting inside Cirque at the Hippodrome nightclub,
in Leicester Square, and stabbings in the area convinced District
Judge Quentin Purdy to support Westminster Council’s decision
to refuse a conversion of its justices’ licence.
Judge Purdy described the licensing committee’s decision as
“unimpeachable” and said the police had produced “graphic
evidence of violence”. He said: “I must give weight to
frontline officers who have grave concerns. Although some incidents
can be explained away, this shooting is extremely grave. Someone
got a firearm inside the club and shot two people.”
And Judge Purdy quoted Inspector Duncan Slade who gave evidence
at the hearing, saying: “Management, however, good, cannot
manage this level of violence.”
Judge Purdy added: “Insp Slade says the club’s location,
size and clientele make Cirque simply unmanageable. He fears a fatality.”
The club now faces costs of £33,151 the future of the site
is uncertain.
The police argued the location was too dangerous for a nightclub
as it was next to the second busiest road crossing in Europe.
Former general manager Steve Bowen has already ruled out himself
from any future application. He said he had no idea what sort of
application the police would tolerate at the venue. Mr Bowen added:
“I can’t think the police will negotiate with anything
that involves vertical drinking. It will now be up to someone else
to come up with a proposal and application.”
The land is owned by Gascoyne Holdings Limited, the estate of the
Marquess of Salisbury, and the building was a theatre, designed
by renowned West End theatre architect Frank Matcham, and first
opened in 1900. In 1958 it became the Talk of the Town, with circus
acts and water shows, and Peter Stringfellow first opened it as
a nightclub in 1983.
The previous club operators, Luminar Leisure, faced similar problems
with violence, particularly between rival Triad gangs.
Adam Wells, from Gascoyne Holdings Ltd, said he thought it would
be unlikely to reopen as a nightclub.
He said: “We don’t know what we are going to do for the
time being. We are considering several options. It would be difficult
to open a nightclub, but it could be an events venue for premieres,
a private venue, and we are looking at longer term, more dramatic
schemes.”
He added: “I still don’t believe the violence is associated
with the club. It is a law and order issue in the area and it is
hard to defend against that.” |
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Don't waste your finest on relatives
DO you enjoy or endure Christmas? It isn’t only that we’re
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