Police with Tasers called to tackle venue disorder

Police officers armed with Tasers have been sent to deal with trouble that has erupted at events at the Astoria, council documents stated

Managers of a city venue where disorder at several events led to an "urgent response" by police officers armed with Tasers have been accused of having "total disregard" for their licence.

The Astoria in Skinner Street, Wolverhampton, is to have the licence reviewed by City of Wolverhampton Council at the request of West Midlands Police (WMP) over concerns about the way events are managed.

West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) has also raised concerns, saying venue owners had "failed on numerous occasions to adequately promote fire safety".

A licensing hearing will be held on Tuesday, during which the 700-capacity venue could see its licence suspended or revoked completely.

The BBC has contacted the venue for a response ahead of the meeting.

WMP said the venue has also been putting the public at risk running events without first notifying police.

Licensees 'aware of conditions'

The force said several events held at the Astoria had resulted in trouble requiring the "urgent" response from officers.

"The premises have been advertising and holding events at the location and failing to inform [us] of these events," WMP said.

"There is a specific condition that was placed upon the licence to ensure that this was complied with.

"Both the licence holder and designed premises supervisor are fully aware of the existence of this condition and the requirement for compliance."

The force said officers had been dispatched to the club on several occasions when trouble erupted at events.

"[They resulted in deployment] of urgent additional police resources, including officers equipped with Tasers," it said.

The council has accused licence holder Glen Tarplee and supervisor Kirsty Allen of "total disregard" for the conditions of their licence after failing to be in contact with police.

Requests for CCTV footage had also not been dealt with quickly, the council added in a report ahead of the hearing.

Fire exits 'out of order'

WMFS said Mr Tarplee had signed an agreement with the service in 2023 to ensure work was carried out before the new venue opened.

Despite reminders however, it opened without approval that the necessary work had been carried out, the report stated.

WMFS said it had also recently received a complaint that Astoria's fire alarm system had "multiple faults" and fire exits were signed as "out of order".

The fire service also said building regulations involving the conversion of the bingo hall into a banqueting suite, in 2008, were never signed off, with 12 re-submissions put forward before being finally rejected in August 2008.

"As the premises have never been deemed suitable under the building regulations for its current use, there may be other safety matters that have not been suitably addressed," the fire service said.

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