Ipswich bar Supper Club, in Tacket Street, set to have licence review over crime concerns, including sexual assault, fights and drug dealing

A sexual assault, spiking and drug dealing are just some of the reasons an Ipswich bar is set to have its licence reviewed.

Suffolk Police believes SupperClub, in Tacket Street, was failing to uphold the terms of its licensing agreement and has urged Ipswich Borough Council to consider changing its conditions.

The review will go before the borough council’s licensing and regulatory committee on Friday.

This follows a closure order being placed at the premises on October 20.

Sergeant Steven Wright, from the force, said police were called to 21 incidents over the past 12 months, including an assault where a victim lost teeth.

According to a Suffolk Police report, Ervin Hyso and Vladimir Markaj are the joint licence holders, while the property is owned by another person.

In the report, Mr Wright said: “The operators of the venue have shown significant weakness in the premises in respect of upholding licensing objectives, namely prevention of crime and public safety.

“Ordinarily, we would work with a premises over a period of time, giving warnings and setting our action plan, but the conduct of the licence holders is such that we feel we can no longer do this in order to uphold the objectives.

“We therefore need to ask the licensing committee to consider alternative options.”

Mr Wright has asked for the designated premises supervisor to be removed and a condition added barring the license holders being on premises between 7pm and closing time.

The authority could also choose to restrict its opening hours to 1am on Friday and Saturday and 11pm for the rest of the week.

Supper Club could also face a three-month licence suspension while staff are retrained and a new supervisor is found.

However, it is also possible the borough council could just revoke Supper Club’s licence, forcing it to shut.

Many of the incidents police were called to were highlighted in the report.

The first, on October 28, 2023, saw a female followed into the toilets by an owner, who asked if she had done cocaine, before inquiring if she was married.

Later that same night, one of the female’s friends had her drink spiked, the report said.

On November 18, 2023, a large fight broke out at Supper Club, with a number of drunk customers being permitted entry. Concerns were also raised about use of force by staff.

In March, police attempted to arrest a wanted man, but a doorman warned him and allowed him to escape out the back of the venue, Mr Wright said.

The report said Mr Hyso was angry at police showing up and only permitted one officer to enter. Another doorman was said to have helped police.

In April, a woman was sexually assaulted at the bar, the report said.

When she reported the incident to door staff, they refused to kick the man out, instead ejecting her and her friends, Mr Wright said.

In another incident, a man kicked out by door staff was allegedly pushed into the road, causing injuries to his wrist and breaking his mobile phone.

Other complaints included noise concerns from the borough council after the venue refused to turn off loud music when it was supposed to.

Drug dealing and a fight involving six males were also mentioned.

Alasdair Nichol, from Suffolk Police, reported that a member of security told him ‘this place needs shutting down’.

This is the fifth review into an Ipswich business that police have called for in the past two months.

The Waterlily, in St Helen’s Street, was forced to close last week after its licence was revoked last month.

In addition, A Listers At Aurora, on the waterfront, had the terms of its licence changed after complaints of unbearable noise and crime.

Café Nos Terra, in Norwich Road, also had its licence revoked after a police officer was placed into a headlock – and other, drug-related incidents.

Bar A to Z, in Great Colman Street, was also facing pressure from officers but managed to save its licence despite multiple breaches.

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