Management to vacate community centre bar
Ł7,000 council rent waiver scrapped after IWCA intervention
Following complaints about the running of the Blackbird Leys Community Centre bar last year, landlord Joe Obhiozele has agreed to vacate the premises in March. In addition, a deal struck with the city
council to receive a rent-free period in return has fallen through after IWCA objections.
Previously the Leys Independent reported on residents’ concerns about the bar, including allegations that the venue was being frequented by a ‘Yardie’ gang using the place as a base from which to carry
out their activities, including crack dealing outside the centre. Accusations of the rape of two local teenage girls by members of this gang have been also been made to the police.
The IWCA called for the current management of the community centre bar to have its licence removed because, although there was no evidence of any illegal activity actually taking place on the premises,
it was felt that the current licence holders were not taking sufficient steps to discourage its use by criminal elements, which was unacceptable for a community facility.
Nor, it was felt, had they properly addressed other complaints such as late-night noise, broken bottles and litter left outside for others to clean up, as well as antisocial behaviour by customers
congregating outside the premises.
IWCA councillor Stuart Craft said, ‘These concerns were initially raised in the Leys Independent because of the strength of feeling over this issue that had been communicated to us by residents. The
open discussion of affairs of public interest is a crucial indicator of a community’s health and vitality.
‘Since publishing the article the IWCA has been inundated with messages of support for the stance we have taken. When we learned that the council was going to effectively offer a sweetener to the
licensees for leaving, we felt it was our duty to question this, especially as the deal would not have been publicly divulged.
‘In the light of residents’ concerns about the bar we didn’t see how the rent waiver could possibly be justified,’ he continued.
The issue was publicised in the Oxford Mail on 27 November (‘Rent may be waived to get licensee out’).
According to council officers the company that runs the bar, CMS Ltd. (of which Mr Obhiozele is a director), claimed there had been a verbal agreement to extend the contract for running the community
centre bar by three years and threatened legal action if this agreement was breached. Despite being told by its legal department that the licensees had ‘a much weaker case than they had asserted’, the
council agreed to grant a rent-free period worth Ł6,900.
Joe Obhiozele told the Oxford Mail that the suggestion his bar was a hang-out for a criminal element was a ‘categoric lie’. He also maintains that his management have taken firm steps to discourage
drug dealing around the premises.
In response to allegations made about the bar’s customers the newspaper reported the rather bizarre comment by Mr Obhiozele: ‘I am aware of a rape that took place on the estate, and both the person who
claims to be the victim and the person who is alleged to have committed the rape are barred from coming here.’
Cllr Craft raised his objection at the full council meeting on 22 November, thereby forcing the issue onto the agenda at the following South East Area Committee meeting and into the pages of the
Oxford Mail.
At the area committee meeting on 6 December, Labour councillors were grudgingly obliged (with forthcoming elections in mind) to vote along with the IWCA in favour of Stuart’s proposal to withdraw the
rent free period, ensuring another small victory for Blackbird Leys residents.
Correction: In the last issue of the Leys Independent, the article ‘IWCA calls for clean sweep at community centre bar’ stated that Joe and Dolcie Obhiozele are the licence-holders of the bar at
the Blackbird Leys Community Centre. While Dolcie Obhiozele is, we understand, involved in the running of the bar she is not a licence holder. The licence is currently held by Joe Obhiozele and CMS Ltd.,
of which Joe is a director. Blackbird Leys IWCA would like to apologise for any confusion this may have caused.
Leys Independent, issue 26, January 2005
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