Complaint over music venue safety dismissed

A popular music venue in Coventry has been allowed to amend its licence following the introduction of two temporary fire escapes.

The work was needed after the original exits at the HMV Empire were lost as part of the City Centre South development.

A member of the public had objected to the new arrangements on fire-safety grounds, which prompted a city council licensing hearing on Wednesday, but those concerns were dismissed by the panel.

Solicitor Sarah Taylor, speaking on behalf of the venue, explained that no concerns had been raised by the responsible authorities, including the police and fire service.

"The applicant has had to spend quite an extensive amount of money making changes to the premises to accommodate taking out the two fire exits to the rear and implementing new ones," she said.

"Effectively, what we now have is an improved system with more fire exits that we had before and the access is wider."

During the meeting, it was confirmed that the capacity at the venue was 1,001 while the temporary fire escapes were in place, and this was confirmed by a representative of the fire service, Ian Jones.

"We have worked very closely with the HMV Empire over the last 18 months and used our regulatory powers to ensure they remain within the letter of the law.

"The venue has made some difficult decisions and have closed down events and moved others with an eye on public safety," he said.

"We agree that there is sufficient time to safely evacuate the premises and happy that 1,001 is a safe capacity for that venue."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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