Earlier nights for clubgoers after trouble (From Daily Echo)
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Rhino club in Southampton forced to stop letting in clubbers after 2.30am
8:00am Saturday 6th October 2012 in News By Ed Stilliard, Senior Reporter
The Rhino Club in Southampton
A Southampton nightclub has been banned from allowing entry to any more revellers after 2.30am because of the number of violent offences there.
Southampton City Council licence bosses ordered that clubbers not be allowed entry to the Rhino nightclub after 2.30am.
Partygoers can stay until 4am but Southampton City Council’s licensing committee decided further steps had to be taken.
Hampshire Police had originally planned to request that the Bedford Place club’s licence be revoked after realising a former club boss had failed to do what was necessary to prevent crime, public nuisance and protect children from harm.
They compiled a 110-page dossier outlining 99 incidents that had taken place in the past year in or around the nightclub, which has previously hosted famous DJs.
Representative of the Waterloo Terrace nightclub, Louis Weston, said many of the incidents were nothing to do with the nightclub.
“When you look at Rhino’s number of incidents, a fair proportion of them are positive matters that really don’t reflect in anyway upon the club,” Mr Weston said.
He outlined incidents logged by police as taking place at the pub which included drug takers being found on or nearby the premises and a member of the public approaching the club with a knife.
Mr Weston added that these were incidents where club staff acted in the public interest but were not related to the club.
In March 2010 hundreds of clubbers were forced to flee the dance floor after a fire broke out at the club after an arsonist, who had previously been barred, torched the building.
Police sergeant Simon Wood told the committee the number of incidents was nearly double those at a similar nearby club, which has double the capacity.
A change of management just a week before the complaint was handed to the city council saw that figure begin to drop.
The new manager, or designated premises supervisor, Stuart Bailey, said he had barred many customers for various incidents.
Sgt Wood said because of the change of management he was looking to reduce the hours of licence rather than revoke it.
Comments(16)
Terry_Nutkins
says...
9:18am Sat 6 Oct 12
Rhino was always well managed in the past. Strangely, there used to be more trouble in Reflex/formerly the Academy yet the council renewed their license & started quibbling that of the Rhino so the club started a petition. Double standards council. Junk has more problems.
A lot of those incidents are cr*p & just another facet of ill informed policing but don't let facts get in the way of insidious control & questionable marshalling of our streets. We're soon have private security firms the war this country is run & they won't be answerable to anyone. Worrying.
huckit P
says...
9:18am Sat 6 Oct 12
userds5050
says...
9:19am Sat 6 Oct 12
chavfreezone
says...
9:42am Sat 6 Oct 12
SotonLad
says...
9:55am Sat 6 Oct 12
userds5050 wrote:In the previous story it says police want 2am closure.
Where have you got 2am closure from? The police originally wanted their license revoked but it doesn't say anything about 2am closure, just they can't admit anyone after 2.30am
http://www.dailyecho
.co.uk/news/9965708.
Nightclub_faces_clos
ing_earlier/
Happy with that, mouth.
userds5050
says...
10:45am Sat 6 Oct 12
SotonLad wrote:Pathetic. I only asked where you got your information from, as it wasn't in the report. I didn't say it wasn't true. Do you answer all questions so petulantly?
userds5050 wrote:In the previous story it says police want 2am closure.
Where have you got 2am closure from? The police originally wanted their license revoked but it doesn't say anything about 2am closure, just they can't admit anyone after 2.30am
http://www.dailyecho
.co.uk/news/9965708.
Nightclub_faces_clos
ing_earlier/
Happy with that, mouth.
arthur dalyrimple
says...
11:08am Sat 6 Oct 12
userds5050
says...
11:19am Sat 6 Oct 12
mooky9
says...
1:07pm Sat 6 Oct 12
Terry_Nutkins wrote:Love it, I'll informed policing and the facts point the other way... Prey tell where do you get your facts from, as unless you have some and not your own views I think I'll go with the plod who are actually out there not an armchair critic?
Not really. The old boys on the council & brown paper bag brigade have been trying to shut the club for years.
Rhino was always well managed in the past. Strangely, there used to be more trouble in Reflex/formerly the Academy yet the council renewed their license & started quibbling that of the Rhino so the club started a petition. Double standards council. Junk has more problems.
A lot of those incidents are cr*p & just another facet of ill informed policing but don't let facts get in the way of insidious control & questionable marshalling of our streets. We're soon have private security firms the war this country is run & they won't be answerable to anyone. Worrying.
BTW I do believe that some of the issues reported would be to do with all of the other places nearby as there are so many clubs etc in that small rat run...
Danniialicia
says...
4:44pm Sat 6 Oct 12
Georgem
says...
4:48pm Sat 6 Oct 12
huckit P wrote:Why "surely"?
What was wrong with clubs closing at 2am? Surely that is late enough for anyone!
kingnotail
says...
10:17pm Sat 6 Oct 12
9:18am Sat 6 Oct 12
What was wrong with clubs closing at 2am? Surely that is late enough for anyone!”
-
Ha ha maybe in Southampton, the city that sleeps too much!
My boy
says...
12:43am Sun 7 Oct 12
The public and businesses can now instigate this so that we don't have to suffer anymore.
The greedy bar owners will have to pay attention now, lets see the council grow some balls or will they wimp out of this again.
Violence at the rhino and in the area, rapes at the orange rooms, vomit, damage, drugs, prostitutes, assaults, and noise just in the last couple of months alone. The police are worse than useless yet they are still ten times more efficient than the council.
Feeble and pathetic, shame on you Southampton Council licencing committee.
navytax11
says...
4:11pm Sun 7 Oct 12
My boy wrote:I don't know who you are, but well said & thank you.
There are now powers to shut all bars in an area from midnight called an early morning restriction order (EMRO). I say shut all the bars and clubs in the bedford place area at midnight!
The public and businesses can now instigate this so that we don't have to suffer anymore.
The greedy bar owners will have to pay attention now, lets see the council grow some balls or will they wimp out of this again.
Violence at the rhino and in the area, rapes at the orange rooms, vomit, damage, drugs, prostitutes, assaults, and noise just in the last couple of months alone. The police are worse than useless yet they are still ten times more efficient than the council.
Feeble and pathetic, shame on you Southampton Council licencing committee.
I don't agree that all police are awful, but I am grateful for this comment.
Stuart_Baley
says...
7:18pm Sun 7 Oct 12
At the review, many more issues were discussed. We have voluntarily upgraded our CCTV system, installed an ID scanner, improved our smoking area and changed our door policy with the intention of operating in such a way that we are working with the police to ensure a safe night out at Rhino.
The Licensing Sub-Committee made a decision on Thursday of last week to allow us to continue to open until 4am based on evidence provided by us and the police which proves that we are pro-active in creating a fun, safe nightclub enjoyed by thousands every week. We are more than happy to close our doors at 2.30am and welcome the outcome of the hearing.
SotonLad says...
9:06am Sat 6 Oct 12