Wolverhampton bar boss vows to fight Covid closure order
The boss of a Wolverhampton bar has vowed to battle to save his venue after his licence was revoked for breaching Covid safety rules.
Johnny Jones, who owns Blossoms, has confirmed he will appeal the decision by Wolverhampton Council's licensing committee to dish out the highest possible penalty.
Blossoms, in North Street, was hit with the city’s first Covid closure order in early September following its reopening on August Bank Holiday weekend, amidst concerns it posed an imminent threat to public safety.
The club opened in December 2018 and employs up to 33 members of staff on busiest nights, but closed in March due to lockdown.
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At a six-hour hearing on Wednesday, November 4, committee members were told by licensing and police officers that a number of breaches of new Covid laws had occurred at the club. These included the venue being over capacity, social distancing not being observed in the queue outside or inside, loud music being played forcing people to shout to be heard and customers dancing.
The authority, which said licensing conditions such as a failure to provide CCTV and staff training records were also breached, said it had worked with the club to ensure it was aware of the Covid regulations but to no avail.
But Mr Jones said that while the club was not perfect on the weekend in question, they had a risk assessment signed off by council officers that they tried to adhere to.
He told the hearing that when breaches occurred, the venue took measures such as turning the music off to try to make sure they were compliant, adding police acknowledged the situation in the club had improved during the course of the weekend.
Mr Jone added he had offered to remain closed following the weekend to address issues before the Covid order was placed on them and that they didn’t reopen even when that expired.
Heavily contest
Duncan Craig, who represented Mr Jones, told the committee Blossoms was going to remain closed until Covid regulations changed and that revoking the licence was not necessary.
Following the decision, Mr Jones said: “We will be appealing it. It could take months, but we are going to heavily contest this in court as this isn’t over yet.
“We weren’t perfect and we got some things wrong but we did improve, which the police acknowledged.
“There was no explanation given as to why they didn’t shut us down immediately early on that weekend if we were an ‘imminent risk’.
“This really feels like there is a Covid-19 order agenda with this particular case.
“Even in the hearing, they admitted we had improved throughout the weekend but this felt like a political play.
“They say they are using us as a deterrent for other venues but should that be the case when I don’t think we got it that tragically wrong.
“We volunteered to close and never reopened, even after the Covid-19 order expired, when we could have.
“We are in unprecedented times, but they take a man’s licence away when he’s saying in the hearing he will stay shut until the guidelines change.
“We are not only talking about my livelihood but more than 30 odd other people too.
“I have got faith in the courts and we will see how it goes. This isn’t the last of Blossoms the brand.”
Councillor Alan Bolshaw, chairman of Wolverhampton Council’s licensing committee, said: “Blossoms put people in danger by ignoring laws designed to protect people during a deadly pandemic.
“The council tried to help them to ensure they understood the rules, but unfortunately this support and advice fell on deaf ears and the bar continued to ignore the law on multiple occasions.
“Committee members were satisfied after hearing the evidence that the decision to revoke the licence of Blossoms was an appropriate and proportionate action.”
Superintendent Simon Inglis, from Wolverhampton Police, added: “Whilst it is with regret that a business that would ultimately support the local economy has to remain closed, we fully support this decision on the basis that the need to protect the health of the community comes first.”
