Walsall: urgent review closes down Decode nightclub for a month after dad's death

DeCode on Lichfield Street has been banned from opening for licensable activities for the next 28 days with immediate effect.

Superintendent Pervez Mohammed, of West Midlands Police, called for an urgent meeting to review the nightclub’s licence, also known as Discotheque.life, after 51-year-old Kevin Taylor was killed outside the premises on Saturday December 7.

West Midlands Police gave the council 48-hours to hear the summary review application, due to the ‘severity of the crime, serious management failings at the premises concerned and the need to ensure the licensing objectives are promoted expeditiously’. The meeting took place today (December 12).

Mr Isaac Cobbinah-Koompong is the licence holder for the club and has been since April 17, 2024. The meeting was requested on the grounds that the venue is associated with ‘both serious crime and serious disorder’.

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Within the meeting documents, it states: “On Saturday 7th December 2024 at approximately 04.30 hours a disorder took place as customers exited the premises on closure. During this disorder, a male was tragically killed.

“From the limited footage that licensing officers have viewed so far, they have raised immediate concerns regarding the conduct of the staff at the venue. West Midlands Police have stated that a murder/manslaughter investigation is ongoing. At this stage there is limited information that can be disclosed in these licensing proceedings given the sensitivity of the investigation.”

Legal advisor for Walsall Council, Gary Grant, said: “The decision of the licensing sub-committee is to suspend the premises licence, pending a full review hearing which must take place within 28 days.

“That suspension has immediate effect. The premises would not be lawfully permitted to open for licenseable activities from now. The licence holder has the right to challenge this interim suspension. If they choose to do so, that challenge will come back before this council for a licensing sub-committee to consider.”