Councillors have turned down a bid to open a new nightclub in Hastings town centre.
On Wednesday (December 4), a Hastings Borough Council licensing panel refused an application to open a nightclub below Bubba’s Lounge BBQ — a restaurant at 8 to 9 Harold Place.
Applicant Samantha Higgins had been seeking a premises licence, which would allow the venue to open until 2am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and until 1am during the rest of the week. This licence, if granted, would have allowed for the sale of alcohol and playing of amplified music.
Ms Higgins, together with her partner Karzan Ramazan Aziz, told committee members the venue would benefit the town by offering ‘something new’ for its night-time economy.
Ms Higgins said: “I do think it would be a huge benefit for the town. I feel like we are not going to be like some other places that are in the town centre. We are more respectful than that, we are more respectful when it comes to other people, the residents, the people opposite.”
Ms Higgins also stressed that the venue would employ a large number of security staff, who she said would be able to ensure it ran smoothly and without disturbance.
She said: “We have that security in place to prevent any public nuisance or anything like that. We have got the security in place for that. We have thought quite widely on the public with our security team.
“If we do open the nightclub we will have the security team of six people around the premises. It is not that big of a premises … [and] they are all going to be trained, first-aid trained; they are going to know how to deal with the public in the correct way to stop any problems with police or … any public nuisance.”
This view wasn’t shared by officers from the council’s licensing, planning and environmental health teams — with representatives from all of these departments recommending the application be refused
Council officers had highlighted the applicant’s inexperience in running a licensed venue (particularly what they described as a ‘high risk’ venue such as a nightclub) and questioned the enforceability of many of the conditions offered around noise and disorder.
Senior licensing officer Kirstie Rolfe said: “You can heavily condition any premises licence but that doesn’t mean they can be adhered to. Are they enforceable?
“I think due to the location where they are, with the residents … I don’t feel that has been addressed enough or maybe perhaps can’t be addressed. That may be my biggest concern.
“I know Karzan did offer [stronger conditions], he said ‘you tell me what to do, I will do it’. So I know he wants to try, but it is not for me or anybody else to tell them what to do. It is for you to say what you will do and put it through.”
An objection had also been lodged by the council’s planning department, as the premises did not have planning permission to operate as a nightclub. The committee heard how a planning application had been lodged to amend this, but such an application does not appear to have been validated at time of publication.
During the hearing, the panel also heard from Emmett Turner, a senior environmental health officer employed by the council.
Mr Turner had lodged an written objection to the application, in which he said he had “serious concerns with the fabric of the building and the ability to manage the premises, in respect of the licensing objectives, especially the prevention of public nuisance.”
During the hearing, part of Mr Turner’s evidence was ruled to be inadmissible, as it had been submitted late and could not be taken into account without the agreement of all parties.
For his part, Mr Aziz alleged that Mr Turner’s objection had been motivated by a personal disagreement between the two men — a claim which Mr Turner denied.
Notably, the application had not seen any objections raised by Sussex Police, which had agreed a number of conditions with Ms Higgins. These conditions include the use of CCTV and SIA-registered door staff.
The application had also proven to be controversial with residents living within Albany Court, Queens Buildings and Homedane House (the last of which is a retirement living complex directly opposite the proposed venue).
These residents had submitted a petition raising fears about noise and disorder, among other concerns. Some of these concerns were drawn out during the meeting by ward councillor Judy Rogers.
Cllr Rogers, together with lead petitioner and neighbour Laura Edwards, stressed concerns around noise and said residents had already faced disturbances related to the premises. They urged the panel to reject the application.
After hearing from all those involved, the panel retired to consider their verdict. The panel returned after a short deliberation to inform those present of their decision to reject the application.
A full written version of the panel’s decision is expected to be published within the next five working days.
Ms Higgins has the opportunity to appeal the decision in court within 21 days of the written notification of the panel’s decision.
