By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Esson
The owner of a Cliftonville nightclub has hailed the temporary suspension of its licence a “win” – as the alternative would have seen it revoked completely.
He claims his venue is the victim of complaints about noise from another venue but admitted there had been breaches of his licence conditions.
Fusion’s, run by Wayne Johnson, only received its full-time licence from Thanet District Council (TDC) in August last year on its second attempt.
Its first application was rejected when officials raised concerns about fire safety, saying there were not enough exit routes from the building, as well as issues over capacity numbers.
But less than a year later, the licence was called in for review by TDC’s environmental health team following a number of complaints from residents and other nearby businesses about excessive noise and anti-social behaviour.
During the licensing meeting, held earlier this week, officers said the club had consistently violated the terms of its licence, which allowed it to stay open until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights under certain conditions.
As such, a number of visits had taken place by officers from the council over several months to evaluate sound levels.
An officer explained: “Significant structural sound insulation works would be required to adequately control the noise.
“He [Wayne Johnson] demonstrated resistance to undertaking these instead seeking to rely on management control.”
The officer said that at one point a recorder was left upstairs to test sound levels, and they were found in violation of the 80 decibel limit imposed by the venue’s licence.
She added that on September 26 last year officers “attended the premises above Fusion nightclub following an out of hours complaint – during this visit the bass sounds were clearly audible and could be felt, clearly being excess of the agreed limits”.
The same happened at a visit the next day, it was said during the hearing.
At a third unannounced visit, inspectors found sound limiters were not being used, and the officer argued “the sound limit has been consistently disregarded”.
“The licence holder has demonstrated a consistent failure to promote the licensing objectives in particular prevention of public nuisance through repeated non compliance with a key condition,” she added.
Officials from Kent Fire and Rescue Service also told the committee they found staff had not been given correct training on fire safety and could not control the fire alarm.
TDC licensing officers added that they visited and found only two security staff on one night, when Fusion’s licence from last year mandated that they have four.
Jeremy Dening, the licensing consultant working for Fusion, stressed to the panel: “We have to put our hands up to these misdemeanours for sure.
“Mr Johnson has had some family issues which mean he’s had to take full custody of his children.”
He argued, as a result of his extra commitments, Mr Johnson had found it difficult to manage the venue – which has been closed on and off for weeks – but that they now have more staff and a new manager.
Sandija Zandberga, who lives above the club and also works there, attended the meeting to support Fusion.
She said she often hears noise coming from a different venue, which sits above Fusion.
“I can’t hear the nightclub, but I can’t keep my windows open if Bar Nothing is open and all the people are outside shouting, screaming, that’s not fair to the nightclub,” she said.
During the meeting, both Mr Johnson and Mr Dening claimed the other venue is the source of much of the complaints.
Mr Dening said: “It seems to me that we are the victims of people making complaints. It’s a tiny club not making much noise.”
However, Cllr Becky Wing (Green), a member of the panel, told Mr Dening: “I’m not particularly interested in what other businesses around you are doing. Though that may be a concern, it’s about you getting your house in order.”
Mr Dening said the club is now committed to following the rules, adding: “We have made mistakes and haven’t complied, we will now comply because we realise this is the last chance saloon.”
After deliberating, TDC’s licensing panel decided to suspend the club’s licence, which allows them to serve alcohol, play music and open past 11pm, for three months.
However, the suspension will end if the fire service and TDC’s environmental health team declare they are satisfied with new submissions to them about fire safety and noise limits.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Johnson described it as a “win for us” given that TDC licensing suggested their licence be revoked entirely.
Bar Nothing was approached for comment.
