bigpoppanils Posted November 19 Report Share Posted November 19 A-list London gig venue has entertainment licence refused The London Astoria has had its entertainment licence renewal refused on the grounds of "public safety."Thousands of A-list bands have played at the venue over the past decade, including U2, Nirvana, Coldplay, David Bowie, Oasis, Blur and The Strokes.Westminster Council cited last year's shooting at a So Solid Crew gig as its main cause for concern.It is understood entertainment group Mean Fiddler, which owns the venue, has appealed against the decision.A spokesman for Westminster Council said: "The Licensing sub committee refused the renewal of the London Astoria's annual weekday and Sunday music and dancing licence and a restricted films licence."The committee was not satisfied that the licensees had done enough to ensure public safety at the venue, particularly in light of the shooting on the 30th October 2001.""The failure of the licensees to implement appropriate measures to prevent (the) large number of public safety breaches alarmed the committee and was the primary reason that the licensees were seen as unfit to hold their license and therefore the renewal was refused."A spokesman for Mean Fiddler said: "The decision to refuse was clearly a surprise and appears to be based on the activities associated with the firearms incident in the club in October 2001. However, both the council's own Health and Safety Team and The Metropolitan Police investigated the incident and the changes we have made ensure a similar incident does not reoccur."The appeal to the Magistrates, though lodged immediately, is not expected to be heard until February and we are extremely positive that this will be overturned."Story filed: 11:40 Friday 25th October 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixenfoxxy Posted November 19 Report Share Posted November 19 This sounds a lot like New York, doesn't it? All the cabaret license bullshit, and letting the lame acts of one or a minority ruin it for everyone. It always seems like licensing groups are the one who least want do their jobs to any productive extent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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