New Licensing Laws - Concorde 2

[33057 Seagull]

The Concorde 2 like all other licensed premises is to have its license renewed, but there will be one major change that will affect a lot of us. The police have decided to stop C2 from holding all-ages or 14+ shows where alcohol is served. All events where alcohol is served will have to be strictly over 18's only.

The police have an issue with the arrangement of young persons mixing with intoxicated adults and object to ‘mixed’ events on the premises. They say that the licensing objectives of ‘Prevention of Crime and Disorder’, ‘Public Safety’ and ‘The Protection of Children from Harm’ figure significantly in their decision.

This will affect most indie / rock gigs, as the fanbase is generally of mixed ages, both under 18s and over 18s.

As an independent promoter of such events, I consider 14+ shows at Concorde 2 to be a safe and controlled environment for young adults and an important part of today's live music culture. Anyone who has attended these shows will know that Concorde 2 take very strict measures to ensure the safety of these kids (extra security staff, no under 18s in the bar area, no alcohol on sale in the main hall, no re-admission - meaning the kids have to stay in the main hall until the event is over and cannot loiter outside the venue).
The new laws will come into affect from Thursday 24th November. The directors of Concorde 2 are still in negotiation with the council and police, to see if they can appeal against the decision.
Please help support them in their appeal against the council and the police to keep these shows at Concorde 2 by signing the petition online:

http://www.saveourgigs.com/

Please forward this to everyone on your mailing list. The closing date for the petition is 20th November.
If anyone feels really strongly about this, you can write a letter of support to:
Save Our Gigs!
Concorde 2
Madeira Drive
Brighton
BN2 1EN

 

[33057 Seagull]

The Concorde 2 like all other licensed premises is to have its license renewed, but there will be one major change that will affect a lot of us. The police have decided to stop C2 from holding all-ages or 14+ shows where alcohol is served. All events where alcohol is served will have to be strictly over 18's only.

The police have an issue with the arrangement of young persons mixing with intoxicated adults and object to ‘mixed’ events on the premises. They say that the licensing objectives of ‘Prevention of Crime and Disorder’, ‘Public Safety’ and ‘The Protection of Children from Harm’ figure significantly in their decision.

This will affect most indie / rock gigs, as the fanbase is generally of mixed ages, both under 18s and over 18s.

As an independent promoter of such events, I consider 14+ shows at Concorde 2 to be a safe and controlled environment for young adults and an important part of today's live music culture. Anyone who has attended these shows will know that Concorde 2 take very strict measures to ensure the safety of these kids (extra security staff, no under 18s in the bar area, no alcohol on sale in the main hall, no re-admission - meaning the kids have to stay in the main hall until the event is over and cannot loiter outside the venue).
The new laws will come into affect from Thursday 24th November. The directors of Concorde 2 are still in negotiation with the council and police, to see if they can appeal against the decision.
Please help support them in their appeal against the council and the police to keep these shows at Concorde 2 by signing the petition online:

http://www.saveourgigs.com/

Please forward this to everyone on your mailing list. The closing date for the petition is 20th November.
If anyone feels really strongly about this, you can write a letter of support to:
Save Our Gigs!
Concorde 2
Madeira Drive
Brighton
BN2 1EN

Sorry should have indicated that I was sent this post by an independent promoter of gigs at the Concorde 2 & I would urge as many as possible to sign this petition if like me you have kids who like to attend gigs or are under the age of 18 yourself.

Cheers

 

[BUTTERBALL]

This whole licencing issue is an absolute joke. The Concorde2 is a great venue and will be economically ruined if this is enforced.

 

[Wardy]

signed

 

[Seasider]

signed

 

[nobody's dupe]

Sorry. No way will I sign that.

Kids in pubs should not be allowed. I would rather see the drinking age upped to twenty-one.

 

[cjt]

signed

 

[blueandwhitearmy]

signed

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

All events where alcohol is served will have to be strictly over 18's only.

This line has been bugging me since the story first broke. How is this different to the Dome, Centre and just about every Council run venue in the country where there is a bar for entertainment? It looks like it is just an excuse to pick on the Concord.

 

[beardy gull]

signed

 

[bigc]

signed.

and btw...my college NUS is backing this campaign.

if only to try and help us still be able to put events on.

 

[Bluejuice]

I'll be honest, I don't want kids at the gigs I go to so this new licencing will be doing me a favour. It's a shame for the kids as I appreciate they may well just want to go see their favourite band at a local venue but ultimately they'll still be able to, just not on nights when the bar is open. I'm sure they'll get the balance right.

The Concorde can make the money back from having a later licence. They can now open til 6am or beyond of a weekend

 

[Pevenseagull]

when I was under 18 I had the benefit of seeing live The Pixies, Throwing Muses, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Spacemen 3, Dinosaur Jnr and many others


I'm now 34 and I know that my passion for music wouldn't be the same if I hadn't got to see such great bands in their prime when I was a youngster


don't ruin it for the kids

 

[33057 Seagull]

Sorry. No way will I sign that.

Kids in pubs should not be allowed. I would rather see the drinking age upped to twenty-one.

The point here is that the Concorde 2 is NOT a pub it is a venue.

 

[Strike]

Signed.

 

[Beeercan]

Signed go Varndean College

 

[Dropkick Turnip]

Signed and I'm writing a separate letter of support to send.

I used to look forward to going to gigs when I was a kid. I still do of course, but the point is that I might have lost interest in music had it not been an option for me. I've been to all ages shows at the Concorde and I've been very impressed with the way that they have been managed. Like Bluejuice and Nobody's Dupe I'm not keen on kids in pubs but, as 33057 Seagull has pointed out, the Concorde is primarily a music venue. The fact that it has a licencensed bar is an obvious bonus but it's not the reason I go there. I'm sure that Bluejuice and Nobody's Dupe wouldn't visit The Concorde just for a drink if there was no event on (would it even be open?).

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Is it just my imagination or has the Concorde been going down the pan this year? Seems like every second live gig gets cancelled

 

[BensGrandad]

The new laws have been brought in to protect young people from alcohol and the abuses of such. The law stipulates that persons under 14 may not ENTER licensed premises unless for the purpose of eating and are accompanied by an adult. I would think that an appeal is pointless.

 

[33057 Seagull]

The new laws have been brought in to protect young people from alcohol and the abuses of such. The law stipulates that persons under 14 may not ENTER licensed premises unless for the purpose of eating and are accompanied by an adult. I would think that an appeal is pointless.

Yes but in this instance as things stand at Concorde 2 no person under the age of 14 is allowed in, when alcohol is on sale, but under the new licensing arrangement it is proposed no one over 14 but under the age of 18 will be allowed to any gigs unless there is an alcohol free bar. This does not bother me too much as I go to the Concorde 2 for gigs & they serve no real ale anyway & the Guiness is just barely passable.

On a sepearte point I always hated kids in pubs particularly when their parents let then run around out of control. Having said that I occasionally take my kids to pubs & to watch football, bands & for the odd meal. Quite frankly they are better behaved than many adults, except both sons 11 & 15 try to help themselves to my beer (real ale). The nonsense is that if over 14 kids can drink wine & beer provided they have a meal & my oldest often has a pint of proper beer in such circumstances. In fact I'd rather him grow up & drink Harvey's or micro beers as opposed to taking to alcopops & become a lager drinker. But hey ho.