COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

A Coventry city centre bar has had its licence temporarily suspended after a “significant incident of public disorder”.



Police asked for Carters Sports Bar’s licence to be temporarily revoked after the incident in the early hours of this morning.

Several officers, including dog handlers, were called to the venue at The Skydome at 1.20am, and reports say up to 100 people were outside the bar at one point.

Two people were taken to hospital.

It’s understood trouble started after a group barged their way into the venue.

Paramedics were called to the venue at 4.18am. Two people were taken to University Hospital, Walsgrave, although it isn’t clear what there injuries were.

At an emergency licensing meeting, held by Coventry City Council today, Carters’ licence was revoked temporarily.

The bar’s proprietor, Kevin McCloskey, disputed the details of the council’s statement and said they were seeking legal advice.

They plan to launch an appeal by Monday at the latest.“The incident was 20 minutes after we closed,” he said. “We had already called the police because there was a significant number of people outside and they didn’t turn up.

“We cannot wait for the full hearing, we employ a lot of people and this has been forced on us on a Friday afternoon.

“We are appealing but we’ve been told it can’t happen for at least 48 hours.“We are seeking legal advice. This will not shut us down for good.

“We’ve had nearly 3,000 people in here this week alone.”

Society’s licence was also temporarily halted after the fatal stabbing of Daniel Kirkwood on Sunday morning.

Coun Patricia Hetherton, chairman of the council’s licensing and regulatory committee, said: “Having reviewed CCTV footage today, and without prejudice to the outcome of a full hearing, I need to make it clear that such apparent appalling behaviour and lawlessness cannot and will not be tolerated in our city.

“We will protect the public and we will protect and support the police.

“We want people to go out and enjoy themselves in Coventry in the evening and feel safe when they do so.

“So we will take whatever swift action we need to make sure people are safe wherever they choose to go inthe city centre.

“We also welcome the proactive approach by the police who are also determined to make the city centre as safe as possible and we’ll continue to work closely with them to achieve this.”

Both licences have been suspended until full hearings can take place. The hearing for Society will be held on April 15 while the Carters hearing will be held on April 16.

Carters Sports Bar has appeal against licence suspension turned down

A popular city centre bar has lost an appeal against a decision to suspend its licence.

Bosses at Carters Sports Bar, based at The Skydome, had hoped to overturn the council’s decision at a hearing today.

They made a series of submissions in an effort to convince councillors that their licence suspension should be lifted.

The original decision was made on Friday following what the council describes as “significant public disorder” at the venue.

But bosses at the nightspot strongly disputed the claims – and said any disorder happened after they had closed.

Now the appeal has been turned down the next chance Carters have to state their case will be at a full licencing hearing set for April 15.

Chairman of Coventry City Council’s licensing and regulatory committee, Coun Pat Hetherton (Woodlands) said: “Having reviewed the information provided by Carters, and without prejudice to the outcome of a full hearing, we have decided today that the licence should remain suspended pending the outcome of the full hearing.

“I need to make it clear again that such apparent appalling behaviour and lawlessness cannot and will not be tolerated in our city.”

Insp Hasson Shigdar, from Coventry Police, said an investigation into the reports of disorder at the club is ongoing.

Bosses from Carters this afternoon expressed their disappointment at the city council's decision - and said they planned to launch legal action.

Proprietor Kevin McCloskey said: “We have been very clear - the disorder that happened that night happened 20 minutes after we closed, away from our venue, after a very successful night with no disorder inside.

“We are deeply disappointed with the council.

“We worked very closely with the police and responsible authorities over the weekend to come to an agreement on the basis that we could carry on until April 16.

“KRA Leisure will now take legal action against all authorities involved.”

Carters Sports Bar to reopen after winning its licence back

A popular Coventry city centre bar is set to reopen after the city council decided to lift the suspension of their licence.

Carters Sports Bar has been shut for ten days after reports of “significant public disorder” close to the venue on March 20.

But after agreeing to a series of new licensing conditions The Skydome bar is officially back in business - with bosses planning to open up tomorrow (Tues).

Bar boss Kevin McCloskey said they were “overjoyed” that their second appeal against the licence suspension had been successful.

“We’ve worked very closely with the council and police and have imposed some licensing conditions ourselves,” Mr McCloskey said.

“We’ll be back in business tomorrow and we look forward to continuing our good relationship with the police and council’s licensing department.

“The full licensing hearing is now on April 16 but we see that now as a formality.

“The conditions that we have introduced are part of our normal working practices anyway.”

Mr McCloskey heaped praise on the bars patrons and supporters, thanking them for their support during their enforced 10-day absence.

He also said he remained “deeply frustrated” that Carters had been indirectly linked to other incidents in the city - and that they had been on the wrong end of a knee-jerk reaction.

The venue’s licence was suspended following reports of a large brawl outside the venue.

But bar bosses have always disputed the details of the incident, stating it took place away from the venue after it had shut.

Just one person was arrested at the time, and issued with a caution for affray.

A Coventry City Council spokesperson said: “At a further Coventry City Council licensing committee hearing today on the previous suspending of the license by Carters Bar the committee heard that West Midlands Police have now set further conditions around the license and, as a result, have confirmed they have no objections to the reinstatement of the licence.

“The police were not represented at the hearing. As a result the licence has now been reinstated on an interim basis with conditions pending a further review hearing on 16 April.”

Society, in Tower Street, also had its licence suspended ahead of a full hearing.

The club’s owners have not appealed that decision, with bosses suggesting they would close anyway after the fatal stabbing of Coventry teenager Daniel Kirkwood.

No other pubs or clubs have had their licences suspended, despite a spate of recent incidents.

On March 21 three masked men attacked door staff and a woman outside Club M in Hertford Place.

Carters boss "frustrated" after it's revealed police want bar to shut permanently

The owner of a popular city centre bar says he is deeply frustrated and upset after police said they want his licence to be permanently revoked.

Carters Sports Bar and Grill, at The Skydome, was temporarily shut on March 20 after police claimed there had been “significant public disorder” outside the venue.

It re-opened recently after winning an appeal – with police not objecting to the move because further licensing conditions had been introduced.

Now ahead of a licensing hearing on April 16 when the bar’s future will be discussed a document has been released which shows that Coventry Police want it to be permanently shut.

Kevin McCloskey, from Carters bar, said he couldn’t understand the police’s change of heart.

“I have spent a lot of money creating jobs and building a venue that in my opinion is the best in Coventry,” he said.

“We do everything – food, sport, late nights and student parties.

“We have got 42 people on the payroll, do a lot of charity work and have worked very hard to build our reputation.

“We have got 40,000 people on social media and have welcomed 120,000 people here in the 11 months we’ve been open.”

Police say the venue should be shut because of trouble outside following an urban night on March 20.

In a force document police say some men used their own belts as weapons during the melee and that officers were forced to deploy police dogs and use a taser to resolve the trouble.

One officer is quoted as saying: “The level of fear I felt will stay with me for some time”.

Bar staff have consistently denied that the trouble was anything like as bad as police have described though – pointing to the fact that only one caution was handed out for affray following the incident.

Mr McCloskey added: “How can one incident warrant shutting down a large scale business that employs so many people?

“It didn’t warrant any further police action so I don’t understand why this is happening.

“I have always and will always retain a good working relationship with the responsible authorities within Coventry.

“The managers of such departments change year on year but Carters is here to stay.”

The police document lists a series of offences which they believe to be linked to Carters in support of their recommendation.

Some are relatively minor while others take place away from the venue, with one assault in Club M being listed.

One offence that police included was an attack on a man who is said to have recently been drinking in Carters.

He was punched after being sick in a friend’s car.

Carters given green-light to stay open

Coventry sports bar Carters has been allowed to continue trading.

Police had wanted to revoke the venue’s licence after a mass brawl on the Skydome concourse outside a month ago.

But after a seven-hour licensing committee hearing at Coventry City Council yesterday, councillors ruled it could stay open - but with new conditions.

Despite the decision, bar owner Kevin McCloskey said the process had left his venue’s reputation “in tatters”.

Committee members heard representations from West Midlands Police that the licence should be revoked after disorder outside the venue on March 20.

Police said around 400 people were on the Skydome concourse after the venue closed at 4am and that there were numerous pockets of disorder.

It was reported that some of the crowd removed their belts and used them as weapons during a series of skirmishes.

Committee members were shown a short CCTV clip of the disorder, with Pc Jo Bowes describing what happened.

Pc Bowes said it took around 40 officers 40 minutes to clear the area.

Robert Talalay, for Coventry Police, said the disorder outside the venue was “very serious”.

He said: “In my submission various parties weren’t informed there was a major event taking place.

“The police did turn up at 1.30am, told Carters to close the door and were under the assumption the matter was dealt with. That's plainly not the case.

“I can’t point to any specific evidence because there is none but there is concern about what happened in Carters between 1-4am that led to people leaving the venue at 4am in this manner.”

Mr Talalay said statements from officers who attended the disorder illustrated their “real fear”.

He added: “There was a very serious incident... that’s the culmination of a series of problems.

“The number one problem is the venue and I invite you to revoke their license.”

Mr McCloskey said he believed the police’s attempts to revoke Carters’ licence was based on “hearsay with no facts or evidence to back them up”.

Solicitor Piers Warne, for the owners of the Skydome complex, said there was “a lot of imposition and allegation and very little evidence” in the police’s application.

Mr McCloskey added that the licensing hearing meant Carters had become “inextricably linked” with Society, which lost its licence earlier this week, after teenager Daniel Kirkwood was stabbed to death there on March 15.

“I personally witnessed an incident last Saturday when two females were asked by me why they were taking photos outside Carters,” Mr McCloskey said.

“They explained they wanted a picture where the boy died.

“They were obviously referring to the incident outside Society.

“As a business Carters’ reputation has been left in tatters and subsequently we have a tremendous task ahead of us to rebuild the trust of Coventry’s general public.”

“I can’t point to any specific evidence because there is none

Secret council e-mails claim police 'jumped the gun' in trying to shut popular Coventry bar Carters

Secret e-mails show that a senior councillor thinks that police “jumped the gun” in trying to have a popular Coventry city centre bar shut down.

The documents - obtained by the Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act - show that Coun Allan Andrews (Con, Earlsdon) was “deeply concerned” by the chain of events that saw Skydome venue Carters shut down for 11 days following an incident outside the venue.

Police said that a huge brawl on the concourse outside the venue in March was caused by mismanagement - but bar bosses strongly denied that claim.

At a full review of the venue’s licence a month later, Coun Andrews was part of a three-councillor panel who decided that it should remain open.

A month after that review he wrote to senior council officers to express his concerns.

He said: “I remain deeply concerned by what occurred and continue to feel that the police jumped the gun when calling for the expedited review of Carters, and that we may have, albeit inadvertently from the council’s perspective, caused the premises significant reputational damage from which it may never recover.”

The letter also implies that other members of the licensing sub-committee who decided to keep Carters open complained they were frustrated by unidentified issues that came up during the hearing.

Kevin McCloskey, from Carters, said he was delighted that Coun Andrews’ e-mails have come to light - and that the police made a knee-jerk response to the incident outside the venue.

He said: “I am a local businessman who has invested vast sums of money and built a fantastic venue for the people of my hometown and with it created more than 40 jobs.

“Sadly in March due to the police’s harsh and quick reaction to the disorder that took place 22 minutes after Carters closed over 200 yards away between just six males who had not been in my venue our reputation was left in tatters.

“The evidence the police arrived with at the full licensing hearing was farcical to say the least and led to a unanimous victory and the full licence reinstatement for Carters subject to several conditions we had already offered to impose on our licence.

“I strongly believe that senior officers knew immediately that they were in the wrong and now with Coun Andrews showing support maybe one day I will get the answers I need to put this situation to bed once and for all.

“As a venue we are currently working hard to restore our reputation and keep the venue alive in Coventry.

“Only time will tell if the 20 hour days and non stop effort from myself and my fantastic team will be worth it.”

Supt Paul Drover said: “West Midlands Police is responsible for reducing crime in Coventry and we take a proactive approach towards tackling illegal activity in the city’s clubs and pubs in order to help keep people safe.

“Following a large scale disorder on 20 March where around 400 people - who we understand had come from Carters - spilled out into the street and fought each other with bottles, belts and even a CS spray, our concern around the club’s management was so significant that we were left with no other option but to apply for an urgent review of the licence.”

Carters fined over city centre fly posting

A Coventry bar has been fined after failing to prevent its posters appearing illegally all over the city.

Carters Sports Bar at the Sky Dome were taken to court this month over fly posting which took place in January of this year.

The bar’s owner, Kevin McCloskey, was fined a total of £3,630 after failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the fly posting happening and failing to take steps to rectify it once it had happened.

Councillor David Galliers, Chair of Licensing for the city council, said: "We will not tolerate people using vandalism as a way to promote their business.

"Flyposting is illegal, spoils both public and private property and can be very costly to remove. It not only makes the city look a mess, but also gives an unfair advantage over those who pay for legitimate advertising.”

Coventry City Council are responsible for reducing and controlling fly posting in the city through education and enforcement. They are also responsible for removing the posters.

Anyone who is concerned about a fly posting problem in the city can report it via Coventry Direct at coventrydirect@coventry.gov.uk or call 024 7683 4333

rebbonk wrote:It sounds more and more like a vendetta against Mr McCloskey.