Nottingham's Skybar has licence revoked after man stabbed

A Nottingham city centre bar with a history of violence and disorder where a man was stabbed has been permanently closed after its licence was revoked.

Nottinghamshire Police applied for the licence of Skybar, at The Cornerhouse on Forman Street, to be revoked after venue operators failed to comply with licence conditions and a series of violent and disruptive incidents.

The venue had been temporarily closed since July after licensing officers applied for the licence to be suspended as they were not confident that the bar’s operators could prevent further disorder.

Officers have recorded 41 incidents over the last two years since the operator took over, including fights, weapons at the venue, and door supervisors being unable to control crowds.

This included two instances of large-scale disorder in March 2023 and February 2024 where up to 300 people gathered outside the venue or were removed with multiple arrests made.

Three men have also been charged with committing grievous bodily harm with intent after a man was stabbed at Skybar on July 6. The victim has since been discharged from hospital and an investigation is ongoing.

Nottingham City Council’s licensing panel, which is the authority responsible for issuing licences, decided to revoke the venue’s licence at a hearing on August 6 after considering Nottinghamshire Police’s application and representations from Nottingham City Council’s pollution control officers and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.

This means the venue will not reopen as Skybar and has ceased operating.

The venue’s licence holder voluntarily surrendered the premises licence prior to the hearing. However, the meeting went ahead as surrendering a licence only means it has lapsed and revoking it prevents the licence from being transferred to another operator.

Force licensing officers trawled through hours of CCTV footage and compiled 427 pages of evidence to present to the panel, which showed that Skybar had repeatedly failed to comply with licence conditions.

Officers previously issued written warnings to the premises licence holder and designated premises supervisor - the person in day-to-day control of the premises - and a final written warning in March this year for failing to engage with the licensing team following major disorder at the bar.

Skybar’s licence was altered on June 26 to introduce more robust conditions, however, these were also breached, which included CCTV cameras displaying an incorrect time, not all customers who entered the venue were searched, and not all customers passed through a metal detection arch before entry.

Licensing officers worked collaboratively with other force departments, partners, and the local authority to ensure swift and effective enforcement action was taken to close the venue. The decision to revoke a licence is rare, with only two other Nottingham city venues losing their licence in the last two years, following similar applications by Nottinghamshire Police.

The force licensing team are part of Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub, which is a collaboration between multiple force departments responsible for developing and delivering strategies to prevent crime and disorder throughout the city and county.

Licensing officers work to enforce licensing legislation and reduce alcohol-related incidents within the city and county to prevent crime, disorder and public nuisance, ensure public safety, and protect children from harm.

They proactively monitor all aspects of licensing for the police, which can include negotiating licence conditions, compliance checks, and working with premises to offer expert advice and guidance.

Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer Helen Guest-High, of Nottinghamshire Police’s city licensing team, said: “Nottinghamshire Police had serious concerns that if Skybar was allowed to remain open there were insufficient safeguards to ensure that there would not be further serious incidents.

“The nature of these incidents has resulted in a complete loss of confidence in the operator’s ability to effectively manage the premises and has put the public at risk of harm.

“Licensing officers have worked with Skybar for some time to raise standards by providing expert advice and guidance. However, this was never acted upon and licence conditions were repeatedly breached.

“We welcome the decision of the panel to revoke the venue’s licence and I would like to assure members of the public that we will take proactive enforcement action against venues who breach conditions to ensure customers are safe.”