Club where footballer died applies for new licence

A former Birmingham nightclub where a footballer was murdered has applied for a new licence.

Cody Fisher, 23, was fatally stabbed on the dance floor of the Crane nightclub in December 2022.

Following the incident, the club's premises licence was suspended as an interim step and then later revoked by a council licensing sub-committee.

But the premises, now named Kanvas, has applied for a new licence for the sale of alcohol and "regulated entertainment" such as live music.

However, in a representation submitted on behalf of the chief constable of West Midlands Police, the force objected to the application "due to concerns around the promotion of crime and disorder and public safety licensing objectives".

West Midlands Police said it believed the application being made was linked to the previous owners and was "not a completely new and detached operator looking to reopen the venue".

Mr Fisher, a former Birmingham City FC academy footballer who had also played for Bromsgrove Sporting and Stratford Town, was pronounced dead at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth after suffering stab wounds wounds to the chest and leg.

Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 22, were found guilty of murder following a trial last year and jailed for 26 years and 25 years respectively.

Police went on to say that an appeal by licence holder Digital Arts Media Ltd against the previous decision to revoke the licence was "still months away from being resolved".

"This application, if granted, could mean that 50 Adderley Street could be trading well before the appeal is heard and determined by the appeal court," it said.

The application will be considered at a licensing sub-committee on Wednesday, 7 May.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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