​Lakota license renewed after the club is cleared of ties to illegal rave

Bristol’s beloved nightclub Lakota has been granted renewal of its license following a dispute over an illegal rave which took place in May.

The club has been cleared of ties to the rave, which went ahead on May 14 around the Stokes Croft area and saw hundreds of attendees flocking to Portland Square.

The club vehemently denied its links to the illegal rave, which took place on the same day as the 3,000-attended Stokes Croft Block Party where partygoers gained access to 10 clubs across the day, organised by Lakota.

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The Bristol club faced its license review this week, and was already under threat of redevelopment according to BristolLive. The review was heard on Wednesday, July 27, after being raised by a local resident over noise and littering in the area.

Sophie Cooper, a local resident, told councillors that she had fled the area due to the club, and felt unsafe walking home at night.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that Mrs Cooper felt “frightened” when walking home after a 12-hour shift as a carer, and found that there were laughing gas canisters as big as “fire extinguishers” being sold by drug dealers outside Lakota.

Lakota denied these claims, but still faced a change in license during its review which asked that the club change its closing time from 4:AM to 2:AM.

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"The amount of housing squeezed into there... it affects so many more people now,” Cooper argued. She also added that the change should have been appropriate “10 years ago”.

Lakota denied any ties to the illegal rave at Portland Square in May, with the club’s licensing lawyer arguing: "There's absolutely no association between that rave and Lakota.”

The club also argued that five security guards and more than 20 bouncers were patrolling in and around the club. Lakota was granted its license renewal following the meeting, and said it would work with locals to ensure public safety.

"We do not consider that there has been any evidence of the crime and disorder, public safety or protection of children from harm licensing objectives from being undermined,” said Councillor Marley Bennnett who chaired the meeting.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter