Express & Star

Brierley Hill nightclub boss denies gangs connection

A nightclub boss has claimed that his venue has been wrongly portrayed as a haven for gangs.

Published

Pulse in Brierley Hill had its licence revoked last week following a review by the Dudley Council sub-committee.

At the meeting, West Midlands Police said they had been able to identify several of the club's clients as having ties to the Johnson Crew, the Burger Bar Boys and other criminal elements referred to as the Sandwell Affiliated Crime Group. And they warned that unless the club was shut someone was likely be killed there this Christmas.

But licence holder Steve Simpson said although Pulse had been made to look like a gang club that had never been the case.

"If you check back over the club's history, it has always been a diverse venue," he said.

"We have held several under-18 nights and hosted a boxing club. The two incidents which did happen are out of people's control. The bigger picture is that these are two incidents out of hundreds of events."

The police decided to take action over what it said had been four major incidents in the last year. A shot was fired outside the Dudley Road club on January 25 and it was a stabbing on November 2 – in which three people were taken to hospital – which sparked the action.

But Mr Simpson said he had not been present at either incident and said there was no evidence of the others taking place.

He also only became aware of the meeting after reading the report in the Express & Star. He claims that having surrendered his licence prior to the meeting, he had been told by the council that the review would not be going ahead.

"If you have surrendered the licence, there is no licence. How can they decide to revoke the licence when it had been surrendered before?" he said.

Councillor Rachel Harris, cabinet member with responsibility for licensing, said: "Although the licensee surrendered the licence on the morning of the committee, we still had a legal obligation to continue with the review of that licence and the reputation that the venue itself had gained.

"The committee decided to revoke the licence with immediate effect which means that the venue can no longer operate as a nightclub," she said.

In addition to revoking the licence, the sub-committee – chaired by Labour councillor Donella Russell – extended a suspension of the licence, enacted in November, to prevent the club re-opening following an appeal.

Councillor Russell said: "This sub-committee is satisfied that Pulse has gained a reputation for gang-affiliated crime and that the club tolerates that activity."

Mr Simpson has 21 days to appeal against the decision.

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