A hearing on the future of the After Dark nightclub could be delayed until early next year.

The legendary Reading club is awaiting a court date for an appeal hearing on whether to uphold a decision by Reading Borough Council (RBC) last year to take away its licence.

Meanwhile, a licensing review of Bar Iguana and Premier in St Mary’s Butt’s, planned to take place RBC this week, will now take place next Thursday (July 16) alongside a review of next-door takeaway Favourite Chicken and Pizza.

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The After Dark – here until at least November

The council has been informed by the court that it is still trying to find a new date for the hearing, but it will not be before November 2020, and is likely to be in early 2021.

The appeal was initially due to be heard on January 31 by a judge in Reading, who adjourned the case because two other criminal cases had to be heard on the same morning. 

A new hearing date was set for April 28 but the Covid-19 pandemic caused it and many other cases to be delayed.

Why did the council vote to remove the licence?

The council’s licensing committee decided in June last year to remove the club’s licence to “safeguard the public”, after Thames Valley Police (TVP) raised concerns that the club was running “high-risk events” attracting customers with a “propensity for extreme violence”. 

Mr Khan has rejected these concerns, saying police have been called ‘just once or twice’ in the 17 years his family has owned the club and questioning why an R’n’B event would be considered high-risk.

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Noise complaints were also a concern, with environmental protection officers at the council receiving complaints from a neighbour that music was being played too loudly late at night. 

The After Dark was allowed to remain open until the court made its decision, but is currently closed due the coronavirus pandemic.

Plans to demolish the After Dark nightclub and turn it into six flats were rejected by the council for a third time in May this year.

Mr Khan said he is focused on managing the business and winning the court appeal against the decision, and that it was the decision of other members of his family to apply to knock down the club and turn it into flats.

Bar Iguana, Premier and Favourite Chicken and Pizza

A planned licensing committee review of Bar Iguana and Premier, on St Mary’s Butts in the town centre, has been delayed for a third time and will now take place next week.

The licensing review was already twice delayed previously by Covid-19 and the late submission of information.

Bar Iguana, Premier and Favourite Chicken and Pizza are now all set to have their licences reviewed together on Thursday, July 16.

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TVP is calling for the three businesses, all in St Mary’s Butts, to lose their licence due to “a number of violent incidents in and around the premises” including “large-scale disorder” on December 21, 2019.

If the licences are not revoked, there is also the possibility the hours could be dramatically reduced.

Bar Iguana and Premier share one licence, held by Mohammed Saleem, who is also the licence holder for Favourite Chicken and Pizza.