A Nottingham bar where a man was stabbed has had its licence revoked by councillors.
The Skybar venue, in Nottingham’s Cornerhouse, has been at the centre of several issues in recent months – with a reported 46 incidents taking place in the past two years.
The venue – which was once popular because of its panoramic city views – was then temporarily closed by police last month after a man in his 30s was stabbed.
An active criminal investigation was launched following the incident on July 6, and police have charged three people.
The victim has also since been discharged from hospital.
Developments over the past couple of days saw the current licence holder surrender the bar’s licence.
However, the council’s licensing panel meeting still went ahead as surrendering a licence only means it has lapsed.
Now councillors on a Nottingham City Council licensing panel have opted to revoke the licence of the 550-capacity bar following a meeting on Tuesday (August 6).
In the meeting, Steve Thorpe, Pollution Control officer at Nottingham City Council, said: “There have been numerous complaints from residents as well as other premises in the area.
“Some have lost business because they couldn’t enjoy the meal or whatever they were doing.”
Most of the meeting was held behind closed doors because of the active criminal investigation.
However, the public discussion heard contact with the venue’s operators has been difficult for the council, with numerous failed attempts concerning the bar’s noise levels.
Mr Thorpe added: “It’s very rare we have to work with somebody for this length of time without any contact whatsoever- we’ve written several times with warning letters.
“We can’t work with an absent director or any of the managers, all of which were contacted by post, none of which got back to us, so you’re basically waiting for the next complaint to come through.
“What we can see from the letters is that any time it tended to go quieter, it coincided either with the police action or a general role in the city numbers, because students were going away on holiday.
“I had no confidence in working with somebody you’ve never seen, a manager that you haven’t seen, so there’s nothing we could do further.”
When the meeting became public again, the panel confirmed it had reviewed CCTV images, a police bundle and concerns from the fire service.
Panel chair, Councillor Audrey Dinnall (Lab), said: “The panel is satisfied that it is appropriate to revoke the premises licence.”
The loss of licence is not immediate, because the bar’s operator will now be allowed to appeal the decision.
This must be done within the next 21 days under licensing laws.
• Final public meeting announced on future of Nottingham’s libraries
• Nottinghamshire: Great North Road Solar Park consultation report published
• Eight suspects charged after Nottingham disturbances at protests
