Northfield club’s application for 6am licence for grand reopening refused - here’s why

A nightclub in Northfield has been blocked from hosting a 6am party for hundreds of revellers. Police urged Birmingham City Council to oppose event due to a previous incident, which saw Medleys club imposed with a strict midnight closing time.

Three years ago, the nightclub, which located inside the car park of Northfield Shopping Centre, was the scene of a triple stabbing that put three men in hospital.

The injuries were not life-threatening, but the club’s licence was revoked on the grounds that management failed to control the situation. The licence was then reinstated some time later but with the mandatory closing time of midnight.

Club bosses have made a fresh application for a 200-guest event intended to be the club’s grand reopening. Medleys licence holder Wayne Bell told council members last week that he had a successful record of event management and had been putting on events for 12-15 years. He offered further reassurance that he would install up to 15 security staff members at every event, as well as security dogs and metal detectors.

But West Midlands Police described his application as ‘incoherent and lacking in information’, urging councillors to throw out the bid. They added that it was ‘seriously lacking’ in details of how the operation would work. Mr Bell said last week that he was the subject of discrimination by West Midlands Police as he believed it was penalising him for historic events at Medleys that happened before he became involved.

Mr Bell said police comments were ‘personally against me and discrimination, stereotype and prejudice against me and my events’. He also tried to reassure councillors that there would be little public disturbance as the nearest home was over 500 metres away.

Both the council and Martin Key, an environmental protection officer, disagreed with this claim. The was no mention of Mr Bell’s claims of discrimination in the council’s report. The LDRS has reached out to Medleys for a comment.

Birmingham City Council echoed police concerns and issued a counter notice to Medleys’ grand reopening, throwing out the event on the grounds that it could cause a public nuisance or crime and disorder. The nightclub now has 21 days to appeal the decision.

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