Oxford Council have published a provisional decision to reduce the opening hours of popular student club The Bridge, following violence around the venue. The club could formerly stay open until 3am, but under new regulations will be forced to shut an hour earlier for a three month period.
The Council stated on their website before Tuesday’s hearing, “Thames Valley Police are seeking a review based on the grounds the operators are not upholding their obligations under the four objectives of the Licensing Act most notably the prevention of crime and disorder.”
Police licensing officer Alex Bloomfield said the decision to request a review was made after an incident at Halloween. The club has had many problems with disorderly and anti-social behaviour outside the venue. In October, four men were arrested after a brawl outside The Bridge, which saw two people being taken to hospital, one with serious head injuries.
The Council said that the committee questioned whether the problems were circumstantial or caused by poor running of the premises and said that the Committee came to a decision based upon the evidence provided by both parties.
The news has been met with disappointment from students. St Hugh’s first year Teddy Mears said, “Going to Bridge on a Thursday is an integral part of the week for any St Hugh’s student, and it’s a good way to get to know everyone at college, so it would be a shame if it were to close earlier.”
Phil Davidson, the manager of the club, told Cherwell, “although we have attended a recent review of the club’s licence no finite decision was reached as we indicated that we wished to appeal the panel’s findings. Until such time as that appeal has been heard our opening hours remain the same as they are now.
“Our view is that we fail to see how an hour lopped off our trading times will have any impact on perceived problems at the club, particularly as according to the police statistics over 50% of our ‘problems’ relate to lost/stolen items.”
