Bid for ‘private club’ on Smethwick industrial estate rejected
A bid to turn an empty unit on an industrial estate into a private member’s club has been turned down.
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Sandwell Council rejected the move to convert the unit in Willow Court off Crystal Drive, Smethwick, into the Capri Bar and Lounge, saying it would be “incompatible” with its neighbours.
The local authority’s planners added that the application for the venue, which would be open until 3am six days a week, had “failed to demonstrate [it] would support, maintain or enhance the existing businesses as well as the employment function of the area.”
The proposed opening hours were 11am to 3am between Monday and Saturday and 10.30am to midnight every Sunday with a maximum capacity of 50 people.
The planning application said the private club would not be open to the public and only used by bookings with the owner.
West Midlands Police said the application lacked basic information – particularly on security measures – and called for it to be turned down.
The force added that parking was already an issue on the industrial estate and the eight spaces provided was not enough to avoid “clashes” with neighbours.
The industrial estate near the M5 in Smethwick is home to a tableware supplier, car parts manufacturer, security system installer, a glass and mirror shop, mechanics and a cabinet maker.
The industrial estate was also “very secluded without natural surveillance” and in a high-crime and high-demand location that would only worsen for police and the community, the force’s design crime out officer added, leading it to become an “anti-social behaviour magnet.”
Sandwell’s public health officer also raised concerns saying the unit was unsuitable as a venue because it was poorly insulated from noise.
An application for a premises licence was made by Mr Douglas late last year which asked for permission to sell alcohol and play music from the proposed club until 4am every day.
The council said Mr Douglas was “uncertain” over how the venue would operate telling its licensing department that it would be used for his friends to relax in but also hired out for parties.
Those booking the venue would bring their own PA systems which would make it difficult to control noise, the council said.
