Club in court due to breaking health & safety regulations

Edward Clarke, owner of Bristol’s Arc Bar has been found guilty of breaching a string of health and safety regulations at his business located in the city centre. He was found guilty at a hearing whereby he breached 23 conditions of his license.

Clarke was ordered to pay a fine of £2,250 along with prosecution costs of £4,000. Among the twenty three breaches, he decided to go against health and safety officers after they warned him not to use smoke machines and lasers.

Around this time last year Bristol Health and Safety officers found a list of poor health and safety including the following:

·         Poor marking on stairs.

·         No ground floor ventilation,

·         Faulty emergency lighting,

·         No access to  hot water

·         Trip hazards near the emergency-exit doors and a bolted exit door.

Licensing enforcer co-coordinator Ian Wilkinson said: “it is very disappointing to see an ongoing sequence of health and safety breaches, some are substantial hazards tthat risk the safety of the public.”

Clarke’s previous convictions were disclosed after he attacked the officers integrity. Clarke was convicted and fined for breaching multiple breaches in September 2006 and again in December 2008 and he was ordered to pay a fine off £1,000 with additional fee of £750 on both occasions.

City Councillor Ron Stones describes the incident as “disappointing, Mr Clarke continues to keep to this pattern of constantly ignoring license conditions, some of which would in the highest category through the use of obstructing emergency routes, trip hazards and bolted final exit door.”