The shocking incident at the venue claimed the lives of two people and left a third in a critical condition. A full licensing hearing must take place before any proposals to re-open the venue can be considered.
All UK venues need a licence from their local authority which sets out how they can safely operate. The O2 Academy Brixton’s licence to operate was suspended by Lambeth Council following the very serious incidents of December 15 which claimed the lives of two people and left a third in a critical condition.
Nursing graduate Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, and security dog-handler Gaby Hutchinson, 23, both died from the injuries they sustained in the crush. A third person, a 21-year-old woman, sadly remains in a serious condition in hospital, and many other people suffered injuries and trauma.
A two day licensing hearing to consider the future of the venue’s licence will be held at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton on September 11 and September 12. The meeting, of Lambeth’s Licensing Sub-Committee, will be attended by key parties, including the venue’s representatives and the Metropolitan Police, and will be streamed online.
There are currently two outstanding applications in relation to the venue, a licence variation submitted by the venue’s operator and a licence review submitted by the Metropolitan Police, both of which will be considered by the Licensing Sub-Committee meeting.
Lambeth Council is also undertaking a thorough Health and Safety investigation of the O2 Academy Brixton tragedy which is being independently led by experienced former council Chief Executive Paul Martin. He has been working closely with the council, police and other relevant stakeholders on this work since the start of the year.
Lambeth Council is also supporting the police in their ongoing criminal investigation into the tragedy at the venue on December 15 which is considering a range of potential offences.
Cllr Mahamed Hashi, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson who lost their lives, as well as with the person who is still in hospital, and all those suffering the trauma of witnessing such distressing scenes at one of our borough’s live music venues.
“We are determined to use the powers we have available to us to make sure the lessons of this tragedy are learnt, and that we never see a traumatic incident like this again in Lambeth.”
A link to view the meeting online, and the papers for the meeting, will be posted on the council website at the following address:
