Court Upholds Decision on Tudor Rose

Residents welcome closure of  troubled Southall nightclub

A Southall nightclub with a violent history has lost its appeal  over its licence.

In May 2014, the police applied to close the Tudor Rose at 68 The Green Southall, after various incidents involving violent crime and disorder as well as regular breaches of the premises licence.

The council’s licensing sub committee’s suspended the licence on an interim basis. On 13 June 2014 the final review hearing took place and the sub committee decided to revoke the Tudor Rose premises licence.

Ms Ursula James, the proprietor of the nightclub, lodged an appeal against the decision. The case, one of the largest licensing appeals the council has been involved in, was heard over three days with the final session held at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 25 February 2015.

Presiding over the case, HH District Judge Day was presented with a catalogue of evidence documenting the Tudor Rose’s failure to properly regulate the behaviour of its clientele. This included criminal and anti-social behaviour that caused disturbance and nuisance to local residents. Also failures to use electronic security wands in search procedures and a lack of control over patrons leaving with bottles of alcohol.

The case involved months of joint working between the council’s regulatory services and Ealing Police licensing team gathering information, which included hours of CCTV footage studied and prepared by the police. It also included 31 witness statements, 16 of which were from local residents some of whom attended court to give evidence in person. The remainder were from both council and police officers.

Councillor Ranjit Dheer, the council’s cabinet member for community services and safety, said:

“To have our decision to revoke the Tudor Rose licence upheld in court is a major achievement for the council. Crime and anti-social behaviour associated with the premises had blighted the lives of the local community for too long, despite the efforts of the council and the police to assist the owners to improve performance. This action was taken as a last resort with the grateful support of the police and local people, helping us to make the borough a safer place to live.”

The court’s decision to refuse the appeal has been welcomed by local community.

A local resident, also a member of Neighbours of The Green Association, said: “For more years than we care to remember, residents of The Green have had to put up with ongoing problems of noise, parking, crime, and anti-social behaviour caused by customers of Tudor Rose. We are pleased and relieved that at long last the council has taken effective action to help residents reclaim their quality of life. We are especially grateful to the hard work and dedication of those council and police officers who took our concerns seriously.”

Superintendent Colin Wingrove of Ealing Police said: “The police work closely with the council licensing team to ensure that licensed premises in Ealing comply with their conditions. The request to remove a licence is not undertaken lightly; it is a lengthy and expensive process which can have a massive impact on a business and the local community. The removal of the licence sends a clear message about the need for licensed premises to operate professionally and to work closely with the police and other agencies to ensure a safe and pleasant environment for everyone.”

10th March 2015