The nightclub where footballer Cody Fisher was killed in a knife attack on Boxing Day will remain closed for good after Birmingham City Council permanently removed its operating licence.
West Midlands Police told councillors in evidence today that the Birmingham club’s ongoing operation posed “terrifying risks” to patrons, amid “blatant” and widespread drug use and “inadequate” security measures, which had also allowed a knife to enter the venue.
West Midlands Police previously said there had been “serious management failings” at the Crane venue.
Officers responded to the fatal stabbing of Mr Fisher, 23, in Digbeth on Boxing Day.
The club’s licence had been suspended for 28 days after an interim meeting in December, but a Birmingham City Council licencing committee ordered the licence to be revoked today after an application by the police force.
The council also continued the existing suspension first handed down on 30 December 2022, meaning the club cannot reopen while any appeal against the decision by its operator and licence-holder Digital Arts Media Ltd is considered.
Three men aged between 18 and 22 have been charged with Mr Fisher’s murder. They have been remanded into custody awaiting trial, which is set to be held in July.