Published
Fri, Sep 30, 2022, 18:00
- The East London venue will appeal the decision, which landed earlier this week.
Tower Hamlets Council revoked East London venue Oval Space's license on the grounds of poor management and escalating violence.
The decision was delivered at a licensing sub-committee meeting on Tuesday, September 27th. Oval Space's license was under review for the second time in just over a year after an alleged shooting at the venue in the early hours of August 30th. The last review followed a stabbing in February 2020.
Earlier today, the council published a document explaining this week's decision. According to PC Mark Perry, the management of the venue hasn't improved since the last review. He pointed to factors such as the sale of alcohol to intoxicated ravers, failure to install the ID scanner system Club Scan and hiring inadequate door security, which led to the firearm entering the premises in August.
PC Perry also said Oval Space appeared to be controlled by gangs. A separate Operation Trident officer said the suspects were local gang members who may have had a mutual agreement with the security firm "to keep the relative peace." PC Perry pointed to past allegedly violent incidents at the venue, including two fights in 2022 and the stabbing in 2020.
Paddy Whur, solicitor for Oval Space license holder Dean James, rejected the claim that the venue had been taken over by gangs. In a statement to Resident Advisor, Oval Space also rejected the claim.
"We're incredibly disappointed by this week's decision by Tower Hamlets, who emphasised what a difficult decision it was to make," the spokesperson said. "This incident isn't a reflection of the many safe and inclusive events the venue hosts for Londoners each month and has done over many years. We completely dispute any claims that the venue is gang affiliated. We do acknowledge that security errors were made in relation to this incident, which we take full responsibility for and we will be working closely with the relevant authorities to address these issues."
James apologised to the sub-committee. He said the venue had resolved its problems since the last review and had been receiving positive feedback from the police and licensing authorities. He said it was important to keep the venue open to continue supporting local jobs and the community.
Ultimately, the sub-committee disagreed. They felt the issues with the venue weren't "taking place despite the best efforts of the licence holder and staff. They have arisen because of failings on their part. The sub-committee is ultimately concerned with the safety of the wider public and we are satisfied that the only appropriate and proportionate action is to revoke the premises licence."
Oval Space will appeal the decision. "We would like to thank everyone for their continued support," the spokesperson added.
Since launching in 2012, Oval Space has been one of London's most popular venues, hosting club nights, live music and TEDx conferences, among many other events. In 2015, the team opened a sister club, The Pickle Factory, which sits opposite.
We'll report more on this story as it unfolds.