Westminster council have refused to renew an entertainment licence for the London Astoria – one of the West End’s main music venues - citing “public safety” as the key issue. In a statement the council says: "The Licensing sub committee refused the renewal of the London Astoria's annual weekday and Sunday music and dancing licence and a restricted films licence. The committee was not satisfied that the licensees had done enough to ensure public safety at the venue, particularly in light of the shooting on the 30th October 2001. The failure of the licensees to implement appropriate measures to prevent the large number of public safety breaches alarmed the committee and was the primary reason that the licensees were seen as unfit to hold their license and therefore the renewal was refused." The shooting in question took place at the legendary private party held by the So Solid Crew at the venue.
The venue’s owners, leading music promoters Mean Fiddler, told reporters: "Mean Fiddler Music Group will make an immediate appeal against the Westminster City Council decision to refuse the renewal of the licence for the Astoria Theatre. The appeal will be lodged immediately to the Magistrates Court. The decision to refuse was clearly a surprise and appears to be based on the activities associated with the firearms incident in the club in October 2001. However, both the council’s own Health and Safety Team and the Metropolitan Police investigated the incident and the changes we have made ensure a similar incident does not reoccur. We are confident a Magistrate would have a more objective view and would approve the renewal. Trading at the venue will be unaffected. Licensing Law allows for continued trading for a fourteen-day period during which an appeal can be lodged and continued trading up to and during the appeal. An identical procedure is in place for appeals to the Crown Court in the event of the Magistrates decision not going our way. The appeal to the Magistrates, though lodged immediately, is not expected to be heard until February and we are extremely positive that this will be overturned."