Nightclub closed down after failing to follow guidelines

A NIGHTCLUB has been closed down after staff failed to comply with coronavirus regulations.

Officers from the Shared Regulatory Service (SRS), a partnership between Bridgend, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan councils, ordered the closure of Eden Bar and Lounge in Bridgend after staff failed to comply with Covid-19 guidelines.

An improvement notice had already been issued to the club in September because of concerns over social distancing and queue management. It was then closed with immediate effect last Saturday after officers returned and found the required improvements had not been made.

The club will remain shut for up to two weeks but managers have been told it could reopen sooner if they urgently implement measures that protect people from potential exposure to Covid19.

Enforcement officers will re-visit the club to determine whether it can re-open.

Officers also served improvement notices to four pubs in Bridgend county borough on September 25 for breaching coronavirus health and safety rules, including failure to enforce a two-metre rule between customers.

Welsh Government guidelines now require pub, bar and restaurant owners to take all reasonable measures to ensure customers and staff adhere to social distancining within their premises.

They must also take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19.

This mainly consists of improving hygiene and limiting face-to-face interaction, particularly when social distancing cannot be followed.

Councillor Dhanisha Patel said enforcement officers are regularly checking up on local businesses to ensure they are following Covid-19 regulations and “will not fail to prevent a business from opening if they are found to be ignoring or not taking their responsibilities seriously on staff and customer safety”.

She said closures “will always be a last resort” and that the vast majority of premises visited by enforcement officers have all been fully compliant.

A spokesperson for the club said: “We have appealed this decision and are awaiting on our hearing as we feel that we have stuck to the government guidelines.”

They said they felt the leisure industry is going through a tough time and claimed the government has “turned their back” on the industry and that it is “on the verge of collapse”.