Late night alcohol licence granted for new venue despite concerns from neighbours

A proposal will see the new Club Ochio Rios open in Dudley Port, Tipton, after Sandwell councillors agreed to give the new venue a licence.

The licence, which includes 11am to 3am opening hours as well as permission to sell alcohol and play live and recorded music until the early hours, was granted despite concerns from neighbours living just 30 metres away that the new late-night venue would make their lives a misery.

The licence was granted to owner Reuben McCalla after he agreed to stringent security measures, including hiring bouncers, for Club Ochio Rios claiming that it was wrong to call the new late-night venue a ‘nightclub’ and he was only opening a 100-seat restaurant.

Mr McCalla agreed to West Midland Police’s more stringent recommendations and eventually signed a voluntary agreement which confirmed the building would only be used as a 100-cover restaurant. Mr McCalla also repeated that he had signed the agreements with the knowledge that he would lose his licence if any were breached.

Several objections had been made to Sandwell Council by concerned neighbours ahead of the licensing hearing – with many turning up to the meeting in Oldbury.

The objectors, led by Anchor Drive resident Les Charters, said his neighbours were finally enjoying a “period of silence” after several years following the closure of the former African bar and grill eKhaya and did not want to see old problems resurrected.

Residents in Anchor Drive said they were regularly kept awake by “very drunk” partiers, fighting and loud noise and proposals to play music until 3am would “only add to the problems.”

The licence granted on January 30  included permission to open from 11am to 3am every day, and 4am on Bank Holidays, with alcohol served until 2am, and permission to host live and play recorded music until 2.30am.

Mr McCalla said he had earlier looked to run a restaurant from 11am until 6pm and then a ‘members-only bar’ until close. He said this would “filter the clientele” but then claimed to have abandoned the idea. “This is definitely not a nightclub,” he reiterated to the licensing hearing.

“You haven’t got it clear in your own head,” Mr Charters said.

Mr Charters said: “This isn’t the High Street, this is a residential area … and we shouldn’t have to be subject to drunks who can’t control themselves.”

Mr McCalla said some of the objectors had “built a picture that wasn’t there” and the fears of a new nightclub were created over “loose words.” He said again the new venue would be trading as a restaurant only.

Mr Charters asked who was going to be sitting down for a meal at two o’clock in the morning. “How did you get to that conclusion?” he said.

Mr McCalla replied that it was a “generational gap in eating habits” that Mr Charters would not understand because he was retired.

Mr Charters hoped there would be no future issues if Mr McCalla stayed true to his word and followed the rules.

“This isn’t a witch hunt … we don’t want a repeat of what happened last time,” he said. “We want to be able to sleep in our beds at night.”

“This isn’t a hustle,” Mr McCalla added. “This is proper.”