Police bid to revoke club's licence (From Watford Observer)

Firstly the grammar in this report is terrible!

However regarding the topic....its about time some sort of pressure was put on this club. I have unfortunately been to this place. The dirtiest club in the town and that's before you visit the toilets. Employees do not care, they just want your money. Rude is an understatement! On the positive side the door staff are very quick to sort out any problems within the club. Once the problem has left the property the trouble reoccurs for a good 10-15 minutes before the police turn up..
Remember this is just my opinion from what i have witnessed.

I totally disagree with this. Area is the best nightclub on the high street. All of the staff are very pleasant and want you to enjoy your night out. From the doormen, to the ticket sellers, security and most importantly bar staff. The security could not make you feel much safer when in the club, the first sight of trouble, they are dealing with it and taking the issue outside for the police officers to deal with.
As for the noise, that cannot be solely blamed on Area Nightclub itself. It is all the clubs put together, same as for the 'trouble' and fights that are caused outside. This cannot under any circumstances be totally blamed on Area.
For the licence to be taken away from them is ridiculous and will not make any difference to the state of Watford High Street after a night out, a new club will probably just be put there instead.

I refuse to believe a word of this, and have a Purple Flag as proof.

Looks like a pretty determined effort to close down a legitimate business and popular venue. Apparently the Mayor had the cheek to spend money writing letters to all the residents of Wilmington Close (thats the new flats next to Gade House built when the club had already been there years) appealing for complaints against the club. I dread to think what 'family friendly' idea the council envisage in its place. An 'arthouse cinema' which no-one is interested in, or will it end up being yet another hideous pound shop?

dnh wrote:
Looks like a pretty determined effort to close down a legitimate business and popular venue. Apparently the Mayor had the cheek to spend money writing letters to all the residents of Wilmington Close (thats the new flats next to Gade House built when the club had already been there years) appealing for complaints against the club. I dread to think what 'family friendly' idea the council envisage in its place. An 'arthouse cinema' which no-one is interested in, or will it end up being yet another hideous pound shop?

I would have thought an arthouse cinema would be the perfect antidote to the cattle market which is Watford on a Friday night.

Cat_Poison wrote:

dnh wrote:
Looks like a pretty determined effort to close down a legitimate business and popular venue. Apparently the Mayor had the cheek to spend money writing letters to all the residents of Wilmington Close (thats the new flats next to Gade House built when the club had already been there years) appealing for complaints against the club. I dread to think what 'family friendly' idea the council envisage in its place. An 'arthouse cinema' which no-one is interested in, or will it end up being yet another hideous pound shop?

I would have thought an arthouse cinema would be the perfect antidote to the cattle market which is Watford on a Friday night.

Hey, an arthouse cinema! What a great idea! That might just get me back to Watford High St in an evening.

Obviously the police want to get close down a club, it makes it easier to cut front line officers in the town centre at night

The major won't be happy until she closes down all adult entertainment at night and turn it into a ghost town, family friendly but empty at the weekend

Anti Social Behaviour in Watford Town Center can't solely be blamed on Area Nightclub. The Council must take some blame for the problems as they grant planning permission and licences for the venues. The Police simply dont have the man power to cope with the ammount of people who visit the town on a friday & saturday night.
I was recently told that on a extremely busy weekend night that between midnight and 3am there can be upto 20000 people within the so called 'cafe quarter' and only half a dozen visible police officers.

Im all for restrictions on the venues at that end of town, but it shouldnt be just area; its got to be applied to the whole lot of the problem will just move elsewhere.

Maclanx wrote:

Cat_Poison wrote:

dnh wrote:
Looks like a pretty determined effort to close down a legitimate business and popular venue. Apparently the Mayor had the cheek to spend money writing letters to all the residents of Wilmington Close (thats the new flats next to Gade House built when the club had already been there years) appealing for complaints against the club. I dread to think what 'family friendly' idea the council envisage in its place. An 'arthouse cinema' which no-one is interested in, or will it end up being yet another hideous pound shop?

I would have thought an arthouse cinema would be the perfect antidote to the cattle market which is Watford on a Friday night.

Hey, an arthouse cinema! What a great idea! That might just get me back to Watford High St in an evening.

ergh

michaelwoods wrote:

Maclanx wrote:

Cat_Poison wrote:

dnh wrote:
Looks like a pretty determined effort to close down a legitimate business and popular venue. Apparently the Mayor had the cheek to spend money writing letters to all the residents of Wilmington Close (thats the new flats next to Gade House built when the club had already been there years) appealing for complaints against the club. I dread to think what 'family friendly' idea the council envisage in its place. An 'arthouse cinema' which no-one is interested in, or will it end up being yet another hideous pound shop?

I would have thought an arthouse cinema would be the perfect antidote to the cattle market which is Watford on a Friday night.

Hey, an arthouse cinema! What a great idea! That might just get me back to Watford High St in an evening.

ergh

I'm sure they were being sarcastic.
Mind you ANY cinema in the town centre would be an improvement.

Watford is Shocking now - and the stats prove that there are too many problems. Now famous as a binge drinking capital and 'Albert Road' officially Britain's 4th worst crime spot.

We need to close more than just one club. Then perhaps the thugs from miles around can go and cause trouble, deal drugs, fight, and make a mess somewhere else!

'Cafe Quarter' - My Ar*e!

G_Whiz wrote:
Watford is Shocking now - and the stats prove that there are too many problems. Now famous as a binge drinking capital and 'Albert Road' officially Britain's 4th worst crime spot.

We need to close more than just one club. Then perhaps the thugs from miles around can go and cause trouble, deal drugs, fight, and make a mess somewhere else!

'Cafe Quarter' - My Ar*e!

Forgive me if i'm being unfair but surely the people like myself and my friends who drink and have a good time in the club without causing any trouble do not deserve to be punished.
Just because some idiotic people are incapable of 'having a good night', does that mean that a place we have fun in should be shut down?
No i don't think so.
I have never had any problems in Area but if the police feel certain things need to be addressed then so be it.
But closing down the club will solve nothing. Those people still live there & i'm sure they're capable of transferring their trouble to Oceana.
Closing it down will solve nothing.

Last timei was in this space it was the Co-Op electrical department-but my 19 year old much prefers Area over Destiny because she says it is less crowded and better run. The 20,000 in the town is based on the licensed capacity of all the venues, not a count of people present. 20,000 is 4 times the population of Oxhey or 280 full railway carriages or 4,000 cars with 5 occupants each. There aren't 4,000 spaces in all the car parks of the town!

You are forgiven! I am suggesting a reduction - That's all. Make things more manageable for the police, reduce noise, mess, less minicab snarl-ups, etc!

Common sense really!

Why not make it into a giant pound shop!!
Great value for all concerned.

I dont understand why the Police seem so hell bent on closing Area Nightclub down? When Albert Street is said to be the worst place for crime in Watford, isnt that where Oceana is located????

Why do they also state that Watford is not a safe town?, did the police not stand side by side with the local council and congratulate them on gaining the Purple Flag award, that was only awarded to 30 towns/Cities in the whole of the Uk only a few weeks ago??

Watford compared to most towns with this kind of Nightlife is very safe and trouble free, any concentration of bars and clubs where Alcohol is involved will always see trouble...

I think Watford needs to see better Policing policies rather than blaming it on the Clubs and Bars...Close the late off licences that encourage younger people to binge drink, support the local clubs and bars that employ so many young people in Watford, The Council seem to be set on improving Watford and supporting what the High street already offers.

Closing Area will not solve the problems the Police have all it will do is satisfy the ego of their senior officer who doesn't care about Watford.

@RB100UK
(1) The Albert Road South figures were skewed because that's where the crime report was processed. If I'm right in my understanding ANY crimes between the flyover and St. Alban's Road dealt with by the town centre policing team were assigned the location code of Albert Road South.
(2) The Purple Flag award is relatively new and is paid for by local councils who apply to join the scheme. It wouldn't surprise me if only 30 towns/cities actually bothered to apply for one.
(3) If a disproportionate amount of police resources are required to police night time activity, then something must be done to redress the balance. Either that, or the bars and clubs should stump up a greater wodge of their profits to pay for the policing.

What about about issuing the police with purple helmets as it is a designated purple area.Also change Area into a pound-building society-charity shop let sells drinks until 1:00 am every night.

TheYoungOne91 wrote:

G_Whiz wrote:
Watford is Shocking now - and the stats prove that there are too many problems. Now famous as a binge drinking capital and 'Albert Road' officially Britain's 4th worst crime spot.

We need to close more than just one club. Then perhaps the thugs from miles around can go and cause trouble, deal drugs, fight, and make a mess somewhere else!

'Cafe Quarter' - My Ar*e!

Forgive me if i'm being unfair but surely the people like myself and my friends who drink and have a good time in the club without causing any trouble do not deserve to be punished.
Just because some idiotic people are incapable of 'having a good night', does that mean that a place we have fun in should be shut down?
No i don't think so.
I have never had any problems in Area but if the police feel certain things need to be addressed then so be it.
But closing down the club will solve nothing. Those people still live there & i'm sure they're capable of transferring their trouble to Oceana.
Closing it down will solve nothing.

That arguement only goes so far, because it is similar to the gun law one.
If everyone owned a gun, I would imagine only one in 1,000,000 (if that) would go on a random shooting spree.

The rest would enjoy their guns responsibly, target shooting etc. But that 1 in a million is too bigger risk, so guns are, on the whole, banned. This narrows shooting sprees to 1 in 100,000,000.

So while you and your friends enjoy a drink at this club and go home quietly, there are simply too many who don't, and there is plenty of proof to back this up.

highhigh wrote:
Firstly the grammar in this report is terrible! However regarding the topic....its about time some sort of pressure was put on this club. I have unfortunately been to this place. The dirtiest club in the town and that's before you visit the toilets. Employees do not care, they just want your money. Rude is an understatement! On the positive side the door staff are very quick to sort out any problems within the club. Once the problem has left the property the trouble reoccurs for a good 10-15 minutes before the police turn up.. Remember this is just my opinion from what i have witnessed.

Blimey. Pots and kettles. Where did you learn such an erudite use of the English language?

I wouldn't single out Area especially but in my years at the front of the action between midnight and 0400 hrs it seemed that many of the bad guys had been there. As alluded to above; the police are guilty of laziness. Only when one of their numbers are in trouble will they act. Until then they huddle together in their riot wagons. As for the cheap jabs at Dorothy; she inherited this proliferation of licensed premises from previous polititians.
If one wishes to go back further, the reason for this part of our town being such an antisocial cesspit (which it is)one only has to look to Capital and Counties (WBC business partners from apartheid South Africa) for laying waste to our town by developing the Mars One Project....oops sorry the Harlequin Centre. Job done; the blood money from South Africa which had bought up that area of our town roughly within the bounds of Water Lane, Queens Road and Derby Road then became a shopping mall which deprived our town of identity. Walking through the vulgar concourse one could think one was in Southampton or Sunderland, blandness writ large. Whilst the adoring shoppers flocked to said mall they gave not a stuff for the ruin they were party to at the top of our town.
Answer to the latest problems? Close the tacky shopping mall, close most of the clubs at top of town (remember we used to have clubs open to 0200 hrs in the 60s)and we did ok then. Oh, and make Plod do the job that we pay them handsomely for.
My money's on the tacky shopping mall closing before Plod do their job properly.