"Negative" town centre nightclub closes doors

A TROUBLESOME town centre nightclub will shut permanently, after having its alcohol license suspended.

Police licensing officers asked Rotherham Borough Council to impose a five-week hiatus on Revolution, on the corner of Westgate and Ship Hill, last Monday, citing incidents of violence and drug use.

The request was granted by the authority’s licensing sub-committee, after which club boss David Claypole gave up his licence altogether.

Insp David Struggles, of Rotherham central local policing team said: “We are pleased with the decision to close the club, which has been the subject to incidents of violence, drug use and anti-social behaviour.

“The venue was a substantial drain on police resources and was having a negative impact on Rotherham town centre.”

Mr Claypole denied any drug problem during his three-year tenure at Revolution and that the club was a drain.

He told the Advertiser: “The police saw no issues with drugs at our venue. They have only emptied the drug box once.

“If we caught anyone with drugs they were taken off them and asked to leave the venue.”

He added: “By the time our license was suspended, our lease has ended so my solicitor advised me to just surrender the licence.

“We already knew we weren’t taking the lease on the building again, due to new ownership.”