Chippenham nightclub to appeal against closure (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Chippenham nightclub to appeal against closure

8:30pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in Chippenham By Alex Winter

A troubled Chippenham nightclub forced to close last October may open its doors again if an appeal is successful.

It has been confirmed that the owners of Karma in Station Hill have decided to appeal against the decision to revoke its licence at North West Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court.

Constantine Leisure Ltd, made up of Mike Rosser and Pete Beckenham, will take the case to the High Court on the grounds that magistrates were wrong to revoke the licence.

Wiltshire Council brought the original case in 2010, and club owners went through two reviews before the doors were officially closed.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware that they are applying for judicial review against the magistrates’ decision. We are considering our response as an interested party.”

The appeal must go through an initial hearing at the High Court before it is decided if there is a case or not.

Craig Meikle, chairman of Pubwatch and manager of Club E11even, said business had not been affected since Karma’s doors closed.

“I’d say the town has been as busy as it was before they left,” he said.

“The number of people coming here on a night out has gone up slightly, but other than that, I can’t say I’ve noticed much of a difference.

“I know that crime has gone down in the town centre lately, but that may be as much to do with taxi marshals as Karma closing.”

However, Chippenham Police sector inspector Martin Schorah said there had been a month on month reduction in offences including public order and drunkenness. Violent crime and sexual assaults have dropped by up to 25 per cent each since peaking last summer.

“Since Karma closed, we have noticed there are less people going out in Chippenham in the evenings, and particularly at weekends,” he said.

“I’d say this has had a knock-on effect on crime levels.

“However, the levels of these crimes started going down about two months before Karma closed.”

Insp Schorah said that while Bar E11even had not noticed much of a change, those attending Karma regularly seemed to have stayed away from the town centre.

“I would say that the 400 or so people who usually went to Karma have not continued to come to the town centre,” he said.

Faye Matthewman, whose shop Phase Patch Craft was based next door to Karma until a year and a half ago, when she moved to The Causeway, said she had never had any trouble from the club.

“They were incredibly friendly to me,” she said. “People tend to congregate at the bottom of Station Hill because of the takeaways, and Karma were made scapegoats.”

Mr Beckenham said: “It’s all in the hands of the solicitors. Everything we’ve heard has been positive.

“There was no evidence to suggest that we were the cause of the trouble. We received legal advice immediately, and it was felt we should never have lost the licence.”