City nightclub plans rejected

A BID to open an nightspot in Birmingham’s Chinatown has been blocked by the council after police concerns about order in the area.

A force licensing officer also criticised the proposed menu, arguing JD Wetherspoon provided a more substantial offer.

A council licensing sub committee rejected the application by Santra to open on the second floor of Kotwall House above Bambu.

The debate centred around whether the venue in Wrottesley Street would be a restaurant or nightclub. The applicants had stated Santra would be a ‘hybrid’.

But licensing officer PC Abdool Rohomon said: “I know the layout. It’s a nightclub, it was designed as a nightclub, it’s a nightclub. That’s why we are concerned.”

The Chinese Quarter falls under a Cumulative Impact Zone policy which puts a burden on applicants not to add to existing disorder.

PC Rohomon argued a restaurant would have been far less likely to lead to trouble.