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A long-running battle over licensing hours at a Blackpool bar has been settled after agreement was reached with the council over opening times.

But the venue must adopt tougher measures to control violent behaviour as part of the deal.

Blackpool nightclub Kaos at risk of being shut down after complaints from Lancas...

Kaos Bar on Queen Street was the only venue in the resort allowed to serve booze until 5am – but police warned this had made it a magnet for late night trouble.

After owner Neil Cropper was hauled before a town hall licensing hearing last December, the council ordered the bar to stop serving at 2.30am with the premises shutting at 3am.

But after Kaos appealed the decision, it has now been agreed the bar can serve alcohol until 3.30am and must shut at 4am.

Agreement was resolved by consent, after the appeal was heard at Blackpool Magistrates Court on Friday June 9.

Licensing conditions have been strengthened in relation to the use of door supervisors and polycarbonate (plastic) glasses.

A further new condition is no customers will be allowed into the venue after 2.30am.

The bar had been allowed to continue trading under its existing hours until the appeal had been decided.

Mr Cropper had appeared before a licensing panel last December after the police had submitted evidence to the council warning the venue had become “a magnet for crime and disorder”.

Issues first emerged in September last year when a police report revealed more than twice as many assaults had been reported at Kaos than any other venue in Blackpool.

This was said to be creating a drain on police resources.

The police said officers had responded to 284 call outs to the bar over 12 months from August 2021 to August 2022.

They called for the licence to be revoked, but councillors decided to reduce the licensing hours instead because as trouble mainly broke out between 3am and 5am and “therefore revocation would be a disproportionate response.”

Mr Cropper had told the hearing Kaos operated as a venue for the LGBT community from opening time, but in the early hours of the morning the customer profile started to change.

From 2am it operated primarily as a ‘straight’ venue with a last admission time of 4.30am.

Battle over Kaos Bar licensing hours is finally settled