Shrewsbury Liquid and Diva nightclub to reopen

A Shrewsbury nightclub is to undergo a £250,000 refurbishment which will create up to 50 jobs, it was revealed today.

Efektiv Leisure Ltd has bought the lease for the Liquid and Diva nightclub in the town's Raven Meadows. And bosses of the leisure firm today said they hoped the club would open by the end of the month, following an overhaul.

Paul Cowen, new general manager for the club, said it would be called Onyx and Blu and would have a new colour scheme, carpets, lighting rigs and projections.

He said the venue would open with a VIP launch party on October 29.

Mr Cowen said: "We're on site from today. There will be quite dramatic changes so it will look quite different.

"It will be a mainstream nightclub for the people of Shrewsbury. We hope to make a success of it.

"There will be vacancies for door and bar staff and management positions," he said and added that plans and licensing applications were submitted to Shropshire Council today.

He said it was planned to open the club from 10pm to 3am three to four days a week and he said they were hoping to attract special guests for the launch night.

Efektiv, based in Luton, bought the lease from Luminar Leisure and has signed a new agreement with the building's owners, the UK Commercial Property Trust, managed by Ignis Asset Management.

Liquid and Diva nightclub has been shut for a year following the death of Darren Griffiths.

Luminar had been trying to offload the site for months after two doormen were jailed for the manslaughter of father-of-four Mr Griffiths following an incident at the club in June last year.

Daryl Brown, 33, of Wellington and Neil Stokes, 23, of Spring Gardens, Ditherington, were jailed in May.

By Emma Kasprzak