Improvement notice served on nightclub after social distancing concerns

Enforcement officers have served a nightclub in Bridgend town centre with a Premises Improvement Notice to deal with concerns over social distancing and queue management.

The notice served on Eden Bar and Lounge in Market Street last week specifies measures that need to be taken in order to meet regulations within a certain time limit.

The enforcement team which comes under the local authority’s Shared Regulatory Services (SRS) said they are monitoring compliance and no further action is intended at the moment.

SRS which also covers Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan recently issued a Premises Closure Notice to Locos Latin Bar & Grill in Cardiff after it failed to implement measures specified in its Premises Improvement Notice.

As part of the additional local restrictions imposed by Welsh Government, our SRS are working closely with partners in South Wales Police to ensure licensed premises comply with the legislation and they will be proactively visiting premises for these purposes over the coming weeks.

Where a business is not complying with the requirements of the legislation, enforcement officers will provide advice and support. As a last resort for non-compliance, a Premises Improvement Notice can be issued which will specify the measures that need to be taken in order to meet the regulations within a certain time limit.

If the premises fail to comply, enforcement officers can issue a Premises Closure Notice, requiring the premises, or part of it, to be closed for up to 14 days. In some circumstances, enforcement officers will also be able to close the premises immediately without having served an improvement notice, but this would only be where there has been a sufficiently serious breach of regulations.

Councillor Dhanisha Patel, the Bridgend County Borough Council cabinet member whose portfolio includes Shared Regulatory Services

Welsh Government regulations require people responsible for premises to take all reasonable measures to ensure that a two-metre distance can be maintained between people who are on the premises or are waiting to go in to the premises, and to provide information to anyone entering or working there on how to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus.

They must also take other reasonable measures to minimise the risk of exposure, primarily by improving hygiene and minimising face-to-face interaction, especially in situations where two-metre distancing isn’t possible.

For up-to-date information for employers in Wales, visit the Welsh Government coronavirus webpage.