Security fears block Wolverhampton nightspot's plan

Bosses at The Prince Albert had asked the city council for a temporary event notice to allow clubbers more use of an area dubbed its 'arena'.

But West Midlands Police described the perimeter of the venue as 'vulnerable' at a licensing hearing yesterday.

It also emerged there had been an incident near the Railway Street nightspot on Sunday, June 14, when a man was stabbed after-hours. General manager Sarah-Emma Hughes said there was no proof a knife had been in the venue before the attack.

It currently has provision for 200 people on the ground floor, 150 on the first floor, 155 on the outside terrace and 55 in a VIP area.

Miss Hughes was asked if the application meant the Prince Albert was looking to increase its capacity.

She said opening up the outside arena to 300 people would ease the flow of people around the venue, reduce noise pollution and allow three more security staff to be employed.

"It's not necessarily a means of getting more people into the venue but a means of allowing the people here more space," she said.

"We're not going to have an increase of people, there will be no extra marketing, no extra DJs

"We have a regular Saturday night event and there will be no change in the promotion."

The arena used to be the Prince Albert's car park but has been covered over and has a licence for occasional use with a capacity of 300.

But Constable Lisa Davies said the venue's 'vulnerable' boundaries could easily be bypassed.

She said: "We're concerned about the perimeter fencing. You can have a very strong search team on the door but still have a weapon passed through the perimeter, that's a real issue for the venue.

"The whole of the Prince Albert is, in my opinion, a risk. The perimeter of that venue is so vulnerable."

Councillors rejected the nightspot's application based on the incident last month and security concerns from West Midlands Police.

Following the refusal of the application, Miss Hughes told the Express & Star: "I am disappointed but we're still really successful as it stands.

"We will work together with the police to put a safer licence in place for the Prince Albert," she said.

Miss Hughes added the venue had already started to address concerns about security.

This had included moving where visitors queue up, bringing in strict ID checks, a female search policy and a suspicious vehicle policy.