A NIGHTCLUB in Ellesmere Port must adhere to a raft of new rules following incidents of “serious crime and disorder”.

Police chiefs demanded a review of the premises licence for Club XES, located above the Saffron Delight Indian restaurant on Flatt Lane.

Members of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Licensing Act Sub-committee could have revoked the licence – but instead chose to impose new conditions.

Doormen must now wear high-vis jackets at all times and at least one must wear a bodycam to record any incidents that may occur.

Furthermore, a ‘personal licence holder' must now be on site during opening hours, as well as the ‘designated premises supervisor’. Both will also have to undergo annual training to “identify signs of potential drug use”.

Finally, all CCTV footage must be handed over to a police or licensing officer within 24 hours of a written request, or on the same night if it relates to an incident involving a person in custody.

Public documents released ahead of the meeting on Tuesday (May 1) revealed the licence review had been sought by Chief Inspector Alexander McMillan of Cheshire Police on the following grounds:

• Recent incidents of serious violence/disorder.

• Failure to supply police with CCTV footage to support an investigation.

• In accurate recording of door supervision in attendance.

• Failure to heed advice/guidance regarding security provision.

• Neglectful actions of door supervision to report/intervene in incidents.

• False information provided by door supervision relating to incidents.

Letters from CWaC’s licensing team to Club XES owner Mohammed Shamsul Haque show that the venue has breached terms of its licence on a number of occasions since 2016.

On a recent inspection on October 13 last year, council and police officers noted several breaches for which Mr Haque was “officially cautioned” and given a final written warning.

Prior to this, during a police visit in the early hours of February 21, 2016, officers found five people under the age of 25, which is against the conditions of the club’s licence.

Just six days later, on February 27, two people involved in a fight were found to be below the age of 25.

A closure order was made in April 2014 “because of evidence of disorder associated with the use of the premises”.