Police bid to stop new bars and clubs (From Daily Echo)

Surely if the current clubs are hte problem act must be taken against them? Prventing further clubs isn't the answer.

London Road is horrendous as well. It is horrible to walk down there at 9 am in the morning - it smells and one is accosted by drunks.

Portswood Road seems to have numerous alcoholics sitting at bus stops. It is horrible.

Pubs should revert back to noon to 3pm and 7pm - 11pm opening hours. Supermarkets should stop selling cheap alcohol.

I have to ask why government and council are so reluctant to take action against the booze problem in Southampton. Vandalism, threatening behaviour, attacks take up enormous numbers of police and NHS manpower - yet nothing is done. The personal cost to the victims accosted on the street or in the local area goes on having an effect for weeks and months, yet more licences are being considered??
Huge penalties against drunks and financial brickbats against the agencies which fuel them have got to become realities, not just patting them on the head and telling them it is OK to do it all again next weekend.
I say good on the Old Bill who are trying to make a stand!

In certain areas, pubs and clubs should be open all night, funneling all the excitement and frivolities into one street away from residential areas.

Oh yeah, and people should learn that consuming more alcohol than they can handle is fun, but not *that* fun. Sip your beer slowly, make it last an hour, actually *talk* to your friends and strangers instead of leering and shouting and fighting and you might make it through the night without looking like an idiot.

It's not the pubs' and clubs' fault that some folk in this city (and country for that matter) are just self-destructive nobheads without a care for anyone or anything. Attitudes need to change, not licensing laws.

Some years ago I asked a Lib Dem Councillor to ask the Council to bring in stronger Planning policies, Supplementary Planning Guidance in order to control the number of drinking holes in the city.
To their eternal shame many Councillors voted against him and the result is clear for all to see.
Now I am asking them again and then we shall know if they do care for the safety and sanity of the tax payers who keep them in office.

And while they're at it, why don't the police do somthing about the illegal activities they simply ignore aevery day day in the Bedford place, London road area, such as begging, drug taking and drunkenness?

Miles Sway wrote:
And while they're at it, why don't the police do somthing about the illegal activities they simply ignore aevery day day in the Bedford place, London road area, such as begging, drug taking and drunkenness?

The cops are too busy with paperwork plus racking up the crime figures with those naughty motorists who dare creep a few mph over the speed limits. Their superiors need to bang in the fines to keep the Treasury happy.

Who cares about the junkie scum? Not much money to be had there.

The problems in Bedford Place have been a long time coming. Since the change in licencing laws allowed bars to stay open later the area has become more popular and has turned into the kind of clubland you used to see in other towns. With the concentration of a large number of drunk people no wonder there has been an increase in problems. I remember when the whole Bedford Place area was a chilled-out alternative to the top of the high street and below-bar.. how times have changed!

The problem really isn’t pubs or clubs but the clientele who attend.

In Bedford Place once upon a time, it used to be pretty much okay given that people going out in that area were mostly reasonable folks interested in slightly better environments. Then, they opened up Reflex, which bought the wrong type of people into the area.

It all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out.

In many major and smaller cities around the world where people still drink and do drugs, you find the same things. Places for the masses have problems, cool little places for sub-groups or those ahead of the game tend not to. Sadly, this choice is exactly what Southampton doesn’t have and a varied nightlife would be beneficial to developing a better culture.

Abusive fighting drinking cultures thrive where there is no other culture. Fact.

A varied nightlife in Southampton would be ideal, catering for all musical tastes, not just
that of the typical Yates nightmare. Take the club "Jank 2526' this has consolidated the glacial techno beats of East German Pigbits with the drenched sub-bass of Peckham's Crankhouse

In doing so they have crafted a sound that will long outlast the inane tunes with comedy baselines currently worshipped by devotees of Clownfoot and Daddylegs.

By embracing DJ Flaps and two-step Snowshoe, Jank has reinvigorated a genre that was being turned into laughing stock by the likes of Stilkie, ATM and Quimquip Express.

As dance fan Charlie Reeves said: "Jank is a genius, he has taken the thud, thud, thud of Dubstep and added at least two extra thuds. It's totally cronking."

I can guarantee that the police wouldn't even understand any of this, never mind make a good judgment call.

*yik*

sorry thats the beer, hik

Daft Kerplunk wrote:
The problem really isn’t pubs or clubs but the clientele who attend. In Bedford Place once upon a time, it used to be pretty much okay given that people going out in that area were mostly reasonable folks interested in slightly better environments. Then, they opened up Reflex, which bought the wrong type of people into the area. It all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out. In many major and smaller cities around the world where people still drink and do drugs, you find the same things. Places for the masses have problems, cool little places for sub-groups or those ahead of the game tend not to. Sadly, this choice is exactly what Southampton doesn’t have and a varied nightlife would be beneficial to developing a better culture. Abusive fighting drinking cultures thrive where there is no other culture. Fact.

You are spot on. Keep all the chavvy pikey scum places in an industrial park and let people that actually come out to listen to good music and socialise with their friends do so in peace.


Brighton is a good example of your assertions. If you go out near the lanes and all the small bars, there is a chilled out, bohemian atmosphere.

Venture a mile or so down to where the high street bars and clubs are and you are in smack in the middle of pikey scum heaven.

Same town, same licensing laws. Different customers

I can't wait to find a club that has a door policy of 'you look like pikey scum mate, do one'. If there is anywhere like this, tell me so I can go there

Replace all alcohol with spaghetti hoops, everyone likes spaghetti hoops

Dr Alimantado wrote:
Daft Kerplunk wrote:The problem really isn’t pubs or clubs but the clientele who attend. In Bedford Place once upon a time, it used to be pretty much okay given that people going out in that area were mostly reasonable folks interested in slightly better environments. Then, they opened up Reflex, which bought the wrong type of people into the area. It all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out. In many major and smaller cities around the world where people still drink and do drugs, you find the same things. Places for the masses have problems, cool little places for sub-groups or those ahead of the game tend not to. Sadly, this choice is exactly what Southampton doesn’t have and a varied nightlife would be beneficial to developing a better culture. Abusive fighting drinking cultures thrive where there is no other culture. Fact. You are spot on. Keep all the chavvy pikey scum places in an industrial park and let people that actually come out to listen to good music and socialise with their friends do so in peace.Brighton is a good example of your assertions. If you go out near the lanes and all the small bars, there is a chilled out, bohemian atmosphere. Venture a mile or so down to where the high street bars and clubs are and you are in smack in the middle of pikey scum heaven.Same town, same licensing laws. Different customersI can't wait to find a club that has a door policy of 'you look like pikey scum mate, do one'. If there is anywhere like this, tell me so I can go there

Agreed, as I mentioned earlier Bedford place was once the chilled-out alternative which catered to the sort of crowd who prefer a lounge-bar feel to their nights out and don't cause as much trouble, but now the area has a more diverse mix of establishments which attract a wider crowd, including the kind of 10 pints and a fight sort of crowd. Trouble has invaribly ensued... just as long as they don't come near the Cricketers which is starting to look a bit beleagured.

In fairness to police they have been objecting to beer shifters known as night clubs for a long time, on the basis of problems likely to be generated and limited availability of police resources to contain the situation. But all three main political parties in the Council are obsessed with this night time economy and they have often ignored police objections.

Unlike the old pubs, which used to be the social hub of the community, atmosphere in most these clubs is not relaxing where people can have nice cosy conversation. They are packed and volume of music is so loud. Temperature often builds up, which in turn makes people thirsty and helps the business in shifting lots of beer.

Decision makers should pay attention to what the cops are saying.

There's nothing wrong with the pubs and clubs it's certain people as my friends and i frequent these places and we arn't chavy scum and we don't fifgt. Don't tar us all with the same brush to those who obviously don't like going out ever...

The article printed in todays paper shows a very un balanced view of the statistics. If you take also into account the number of nights these venues operate, the number of people that visit the venues each week the number of offences commited is relative. During the period the statistics were complied venues such as oc and Reflex were attracting around 4000 and 3000 people respectively per week so 22 and 17 offences reported are relitively low. I also noticed the statistics are also for assaults on doorstaff refusing entry. Doesn't this show we know who don't want in so were not letting them in. These are obviously people hell bent on causing trouble hense why they are assaulting people doing their jobs.
All articles like this do is encourage doorstaff to not report incidents like other clubs in town which is beneficial to no one. I would also like to know the statistics for other venues in town such as Walkabout, Bar Risa and why was leisure World missed out.

More generalised drivel from the Daily Echo without any hard facts to back these wild statements up. I, for one, drink regularly in all of the places mentioned above, but I've never seen any trouble whatsoever.

Granted, every now and then some trouble maker tries stopping me from peeing in the street / injecting crack straight into my eyeball / throwing kebab at people, but give them a quick slap and they soon melt away into the night. Problem solved

Mr Southampton. Your issue clearly isn't with the venues it's the music played. you can't base an arguement purely on your dislike of the music. I'm guessing your tastes are more likely suited to venues such as Junk Which you chose not to mention being top of the league. Having worked in Brighton for nearly a year at wenues in the lanes and west street i think your short visit doesn't really give a balanced view.

How about locking up the dickheads who can not behave

I and all my friends can behave

Typical Mary Whitehouse attitude from O.B. Maybe if they locked up the scum that go around starting fights and mugging people, Southampton might not be the 3rd most dangerous city in the country.

This is not rocket science or an attempt to find the origins of life Mr Plod and Mrs Councillor, Set a number of incidents acceptable for each venue now you have a chart to go by and if they exceed that over a year period simply revoke their license..end of Flares thank christ!

Daft Kerplunk, Southampton says...
12:08pm Wed 10 Sep 08 "all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out."

This view just shows how ignorant people are. The brighter a venue is the less trouble it has, as there aren't any dark corners for things to go on. I know for a fact if the police figures were broken down to trouble caused direct from a venue and trouble caused by people first drinkng at home then fighting with doorstaff because they are not allowed in, the story would be different. I dont understand how the Police can be frustrated at venues in Southampton when you can go into ASDA, TESCO, etc, and buy beer and wine at a fraction of the cost you can at a pub/club. Venues in Southampton do their best to clamp down on trouble and are constantly praised by the police for helping them in dealing with trouble and helping with investigations. When is this side going to be highlighted!!!

Ents manager wrote:
Daft Kerplunk, Southampton says...
12:08pm Wed 10 Sep 08 "all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out."

This view just shows how ignorant people are. The brighter a venue is the less trouble it has, as there aren't any dark corners for things to go on. I know for a fact if the police figures were broken down to trouble caused direct from a venue and trouble caused by people first drinkng at home then fighting with doorstaff because they are not allowed in, the story would be different. I dont understand how the Police can be frustrated at venues in Southampton when you can go into ASDA, TESCO, etc, and buy beer and wine at a fraction of the cost you can at a pub/club. Venues in Southampton do their best to clamp down on trouble and are constantly praised by the police for helping them in dealing with trouble and helping with investigations. When is this side going to be highlighted!!!

So what your saying is that clubs / pubs should drop their prices to supermarket levels and all trouble will cease? I'm up for that.

Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter) wrote:
Ents manager wrote:
Daft Kerplunk, Southampton says...
12:08pm Wed 10 Sep 08 "all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out."

This view just shows how ignorant people are. The brighter a venue is the less trouble it has, as there aren't any dark corners for things to go on. I know for a fact if the police figures were broken down to trouble caused direct from a venue and trouble caused by people first drinkng at home then fighting with doorstaff because they are not allowed in, the story would be different. I dont understand how the Police can be frustrated at venues in Southampton when you can go into ASDA, TESCO, etc, and buy beer and wine at a fraction of the cost you can at a pub/club. Venues in Southampton do their best to clamp down on trouble and are constantly praised by the police for helping them in dealing with trouble and helping with investigations. When is this side going to be highlighted!!!So what your saying is that clubs / pubs should drop their prices to supermarket levels and all trouble will cease? I'm up for that.

Not quite, but maybe supermarkets should be dealt with before they start pointing the finger at pubs.

Are British adults so pathetic and needy of alcohol to numb the misery of living in this s**thole that they need our Nanny government to take control of pricing away from the Supermarkets and Pubs..what a state we are in!

What strange and insane things people are saying. Cheap booze is to blame for all this? Nope, booze is pretty much the same price in supermarkets all over the country. So, what, because Southampton dullards can't have a few tins without starting a fight, booze should be more expensive in Southampton? Listen to yourselves!

It's people's attitudes that need to change, people's love of going out and getting twisted, or staying in and getting twisted. I'm pretty wasted right now to be honest (on supermarket booze no less) and yet the number of people I've beaten up tonight numbers precisely zero. Why? Because it's the psychos that are causing problems, not the supermarkets, not the nightclubs, not the door staff, not the police, not the council. We should be concentrating our efforts on getting rid of the lunatic drunks who go out for a few pints and a fight. And the best way to do this is by changing attitudes, not condemning businesses.

Ents manager wrote:
Daft Kerplunk, Southampton says...12:08pm Wed 10 Sep 08 "all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out."This view just shows how ignorant people are. The brighter a venue is the less trouble it has, as there aren't any dark corners for things to go on. I know for a fact if the police figures were broken down to trouble caused direct from a venue and trouble caused by people first drinkng at home then fighting with doorstaff because they are not allowed in, the story would be different. I dont understand how the Police can be frustrated at venues in Southampton when you can go into ASDA, TESCO, etc, and buy beer and wine at a fraction of the cost you can at a pub/club. Venues in Southampton do their best to clamp down on trouble and are constantly praised by the police for helping them in dealing with trouble and helping with investigations. When is this side going to be highlighted!!!

Okay okay, I really meant 'cheap-looking' by saying 'bright'.

Hey, football stadiums in the 80s with no roofs were bright too but they had trouble. More to do with the people that go there, and whatever it is that attracts them in the first place I feel.

...but glad that picked up on the least important part of my post instead of any of the other elements.

Be cool. Living in darkness.

Ents manager wrote:
Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter) wrote:Ents manager wrote:Daft Kerplunk, Southampton says...12:08pm Wed 10 Sep 08 "all comes down to decoration and music. Is it any surprise that Flares has the most problems in town given it is bright, super cheesy and has rubbish pop music being played? Keep all the trouble makers in areas like Leisure World or Above Bar around Yates’s and Flares and let the rest of us have some decent places to go where we can have a fun relaxed night out."This view just shows how ignorant people are. The brighter a venue is the less trouble it has, as there aren't any dark corners for things to go on. I know for a fact if the police figures were broken down to trouble caused direct from a venue and trouble caused by people first drinkng at home then fighting with doorstaff because they are not allowed in, the story would be different. I dont understand how the Police can be frustrated at venues in Southampton when you can go into ASDA, TESCO, etc, and buy beer and wine at a fraction of the cost you can at a pub/club. Venues in Southampton do their best to clamp down on trouble and are constantly praised by the police for helping them in dealing with trouble and helping with investigations. When is this side going to be highlighted!!!So what your saying is that clubs / pubs should drop their prices to supermarket levels and all trouble will cease? I'm up for that.Not quite, but maybe supermarkets should be dealt with before they start pointing the finger at pubs.

Not really, if they do that they are punishing people that drink responsibly at home. Why should their alcohol costs go up because of your scummy patrons?

When was the last time you saw someone get glassed in a supermarket?

When was the last time you saw someone come out of a supermarket and **** all over the streets?

It's easy to target the supermarkets but they are probably selling alcohol at a price it SHOULD actually be whereas you lot are screwing people with the prices you charge

It is clear you think it is everybody elses fault but your own.

Apologies if this sounds like I am saying 'you' as in personally you, I mean the pubs/clubs in general.

The whole thing is crap don't go out on the town if you don't like what you see, the only way to stop fights and violence criminal damage etc is to give the offenders a tough prison sentance, not just a slap on the rist like they get or just go back to old school bouncers who deal with the so called hard boys/girls like they used to. next time they go back to the club they either won't get in or there will behave themsleves.

Does anyone remember New Yorks?????rough place but **** off the bouncers and you would get your **** kicked big time. now thats how it should be as the regulars knew the deal and the new faces who caused trouble never came back.