Hove bar closed due to cocaine traces on 'several' surfaces can reopen under new management

Credit: Local Democracy Reporting Service
Antidote, on Western Road in Hove, looked likely to lose its premises licence when police applied for a formal review of it.. Credit: Sarah Booker-Lewis, Local Democracy Reporting Service

A bar can reopen under new management having been closed due to readings that showed "bulk" amounts of cocaine were in contact with "several" surfaces there.

Antidote, on Western Road in Hove, looked likely to lose its premises licence when police applied for a formal review.

Sussex Police applied to Brighton and Hove City Council to revoke the drinks licence after officers found high readings of cocaine on four separate occasions from December 2021 to December last year.

Before a formal hearing could be held, the premises owner Ritan Enterprises Limited terminated the bar's lease.

Ritan director James Dyson, 60, took over the licence and told a panel in February that he was working with Hove-based Bar Logic to reopen the business under a new name.

Bar Logic is run by Alex Doukakis, the licensee at the Ralli Hall, a community centre in Denmark Villas, Hove. He also runs bars at events, including the Brighton Festival.

New licence conditions, negotiated by Sussex Police with Mr Dyson, would require substantial hot food to be available at all times, with menus on display, as well as earlier closing.

The proposal put to the panel also required licensing hours from 10am to midnight from Sunday to Thursday, with the premises closing at 12.30am. The bar would previously close at 1.30am.

The nightclub-style basement area would be used only for parties booked at least 72 hours in advance, with a record to be kept of those using the venue.

Once the venue was refurbished, the panel was told, it would have been closed for at least five months.

The licensing panel's decision letter said: "The main features of the proposal are reduced hours of operation, substantial food on the ground floor and use of the basement for pre-booked events only.

"Robust anti-drugs conditions including training are included - and measures to control noise at the premises.

"There is also a requirement for employment of an independent auditor to make unannounced visits to the premises to assess compliance with conditions."

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