Last call: Kartel closes following review

Kartel has been forced to shut down following a review regarding a number of violent incidents at the venue.

The club received a notice from the Council following a number of incidents including a man dislodging a glass pane which fell and injured six clubbers, a drunk man attempting to fight with a doorman after being ejected and a large-scale fight which occurred after three men were kicked out.

As a result, councillors agreed to make changes to the club’s licencing restrictions, which meant changing the last entry from 3.15am to 2.45am and closing an hour earlier at 3am. However, following a review with these restrictions in place, the club was forced to close permanently and held its last night on Sunday 27th April.

The Tab spoke to Kartel’s co-owner James Belton, who said: “We’re absolutely gutted that it’s closing. It’s utterly heartbreaking really, but we were absolutely overwhelmed with the response we had from the petition and the comments were fantastic and it boosted our moral.”

The club’s Facebook page – which has over 10,000 likes – describes itself as “saving Norwich from Prince of Wales since ’08” and students and customers agree. One student told us: “It’s sad that it’s closing. The closure will mean a considerable amount of students will have nowhere to go on a night out. Hideout and Karma Café aren’t quite the same and they close earlier.”

Another UEA student described Kartel as being “like nowhere else in Norwich”.

Twitter has been flowing with mixed views following the closure. One clubber said: “I wouldn’t say the violence or disorder is considerably worse than any of the others clubs in Norwich.” Others have shown concern over the lack of options for late-night clubbing, tweeting: “Where will we party until 5am now?”

Others were less sentimental about the closure: “So sad Kartel is closing is closing. Lol jk the place is scummy as fuck.”

Clubbers queue for Kartel’s last ever night

When we asked James what was next for them, he said that although Kartel as a nightclub ceases to exist, the venue itself will not.

“The venue will be reopening at some point in the near future, but not as a nightclub. I don’t want to give away too much information but we are extremely excited about what the future holds.”

Part of the refurbishment has already taken place with the DJ booth and speakers being removed.

“From the ashes of Kartel a phoenix will rise, basically,” he added. “It’s not going to be a nightclub anymore, it’s going to be very different and very new to Norwich, something that hasn’t been seen yet in this city. Watch this space.”

What do you think of Kartel’s closure? What are some of your best memories there? Let us know in the comments section.