A Thornton Heath nightclub with a long history of violence has been allowed to remain open despite a police bid to shut it down.

Councillors reviewed Club 791's licence last week, less than five months after it was spared closure following a “near-fatal” knife attack.

The London Road club, which has been at the centre of four stabbings in the past 16 months, was allowed to reopen in November after management reached a "compromise" with police over its "ineffective" security arrangements.

As part of the deal, owner Kibuuka Kyeyune was ordered to install a ID scanner and upgrade the CCTV system at the club.

Feb 16: Thornton Heath nightclub Club 791 shut by police again over 'significant risk of serious violent crime'

But in February it was forced to temporarily close its doors again after a group of nine people - including a man thought to be involved in the October stabbing - forced their way into the club past security staff, leading police to call for a permanent shutdown.

Croydon police licensing officer Darren Rhodes said the club had “failed to put in sufficient measures in place” to prevent trouble and asked councillors to revoke the venue’s licence.

However, on Thursday Croydon Council's licensing committee chose not to revoke the license, opting instead to impose stricter conditions to improve security at the venue:

The new requirements included:

  • A minimum of 10 bouncers, including at least one woman, will be required on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, starting work 30 minutes before the club opens and finishing no fewer than 30 minutes after closing time
  • The club will be forced to close at 2am on weekends and 1.30am during the week, with the sale of alcohol stopping half an hour earlier
  • No customers will be allowed enter or re-enter the club after midnight

October's stabbing was the 15th outbreak of serious violence at the nightclub since June 2011.

Those included a 2011 shooting, when three masked men blasted a shotgun into the club, and a fight in September 2012 in which a clubber was stabbed five times in the back.

Nov 7: Thornton Heath nightclub Club 791 clings on to licence after four stabbings in 15 months

Nov 2: Club "seriously hindered" investigation into near-fatal stabbing

In his application for the club's licence to be revoked, PC Rhodes said there was a "real risk of escalation of incidents involving serious crime" if the venue remained open because of Mr Kyeyune's repeated "failure" to address security issues.

But the club's legal team argued it had taken "measures [it] felt could prevent the occurrence of serious crime or disorder", including trialling a new door staff team following the October stabbing.

Adrian Studd, an independent licensing consultant and former Met officer, said extra conditions imposed at the previous licence review had "not yet been given sufficient time to bed in and bring long-term results" in improving security at the club.

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