by John Harrington
Police in Nottingham where licensees are being tested on adherence to under-age drinking rules more thoroughly than anywhere else in the UK are to ask magistrates to revoke licences at two venues that were twice caught serving under-18s.
In an unprecedented move, officers have written to the owners of the two outlets, Spirit Group and the Nightclub Company, to say they will go to Nottingham magistrates on 15 April to request that the liquor licences are revoked.
Nightclub Company's 3,500-capacity the Works nightclub and Spirit's Long Island Ice Tea Bar were both caught serving minors in an under-age sting this month. Eleven out of 27 venues, including those owned by five major pub operators, were found to have served a 15-year-old boy during this operation.
But the Works and Long Island Ice Tea Bar were also caught during another sting in December. Police said they had earlier issued written warnings to the companies about serving under-18s.
Commenting on the police bid, Nottingham Inspector Paul Winter said: "This is the first time that this has been done in a major city-centre venue, although there have been calls to do so in the past. I believe you must give people a chance to sort things out, but there comes a point when you have to say there are no more chances."
BEDA (Bar, Entertainment & Dance Association) chairman John Hayes criticised Nottingham Chief Constable Steven Green, who is known for attacking the trade, for putting the emphasis on prosecuting pubs and clubs rather than working with them.
He said Nottingham should set up a Manchester-style City Safe scheme, which sees police, licensees and other bodies working together to improve safety in and around pubs and clubs.
"Manchester City Safe has to be the blue print for the country; it takes fewer officers to implement for a start. They are trying to roll this out into other towns and cities and maybe Nottingham should be included," Hayes said.
A spokesman for Spirit said: "We take the issue of responsible retailing extremely seriously and strive to ensure that every possible measure is taken to prevent under-age drinking in our pubs and bars. We have carried out a full review of our procedures at the Long Island Ice Tea Bar with the management and team, and are committed to resolving this."
Disorder sparks police threat
Northumbria police are bidding to close down a well-known floating boat nightclub because of "persistent violence and crime and disorder involving drinks promotions".
Figures for the sevenmonth period from last July to February showed that on Thursdays the Tuxedo Princess' weekly promotions night more than 78% of incidents police were called to in the Gateshead Quays area were connected to the venue.
Up until a couple of months ago, the club, owned by Absolute Leisure, ran an "all you can drink for £10" offer on Thursdays. Two people have drowned in the River Tyne after visiting the club and taking advantage of the drinks deal.
Managing director Tony Knox confirmed that promotion had finished but did not wish to comment further. Currently the promotion is £1.50 for all bottles.
"Undertakings have been given to address the problems," said Gateshead chief inspector Mick Wilkinson.