A BINGLEY cocktail bar and nightclub which is at the centre of an ongoing murder investigation is to remain closed after its licence was revoked on Wednesday.

West Yorkshire Police had made a rare application in December to temporarily suspend Bijou nightclub, in Chapel Lane, ahead of a full review hearing. The move followed an incident on November 25 when James Etherington, 24, was assaulted - and subsequently died from his injuries ten days later.

At the summary review held by Bradford District Licensing Panel, members heard from the police, interested parties and the licence holder.

Speaking on behalf of the police, PC Kevin Lord, Bradford District Licensing Officer, said since 2015 there had been a number of incidents investigated at the nightclub including assaults, excessive noise, thefts and out of hours and underage drinking.

There had also been reports of drug taking in the vicinity.

PC Lord said in 2015 there had been 14 offences investigated. In 2016 the numbers grew to 24 offences and in 2017 they totalled 20.

"Of those 20 last year, 14 were assaults, five had occurred inside Bijou, eight had occurred outside and one was not clear. Thirteen of these (65 per cent) occurred between midnight and 3.31am."

PC Lord said Rory Proctor, the licence holder of Bijou, had co-operated fully with the police and worked to resolve the issues.

He added that there had been a number of malicious complaints about the premises which were not upheld.

He said the police had visited the premises on a number of occasions. One resulted in a final warning and efforts had been made to make improvements.

CCTV had been checked and was in order. PC Lord added that many crime and disorder reports were not solely down to Bijou and that incidents had occurred at other licences premises in Bingley.

The police's suggestions included replacing the current designated premises supervisor; replacing the current security company; that door supervisors wear body cameras; a minimum of one first aider be on site and that the opening hours of the club be reduced to 3am from 5am.

Bingley Town Council's Joe Wheatley (Labour, Bingley Central & Myrtle Park) said the town council was asking for Bijou's licence to be revoked.

"If the licence is not to be revoked we suggest we support the police's proposals apart from condition five asking for a reduction in opening hours to 3am. We would suggest that be reduced to 12am," said Councillor Wheatley.

Also supporting the town council was Andrew Boggett, former proprietor of the adjacent Off The Tap pub from 2012 to 2017.

He said his premises had suffered damage and intimidation from users of Bijou.

Bijou's current licence holder Rory Proctor said he disputed claims that his nightclub was responsible for many of the incidents reported and said there were several other clubs open into the early hours.

"A lot of what has been said is not substantiated.

"We have worked with the police and co-operated fully and they are satisfied. We feel we have gone above and beyond."

Panel chairman Councillor Malcolm Slater, sitting together with Councillor Brian Morris and Councillor Martin Smith, said the panel was revoking the licence.

He said: "Conditions suggested by West Yorkshire Police do not address their concerns about previous breaches and the undermining of four licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm)."

Mr Proctor declined to make a comment following the decision.