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OUDTSHOORN’S Lev Cupid nightclub has temporarily lost its liquor licence.

Advocate Antoinette van Dalen, chairman of a Western Cape Liquor Board hearing into complaints by residents living near the club about the loud noise, yesterday said the licence was suspended with immediate effect.

She said it would only become valid again once the club had moved to more suitable premises not in a residential area.

Residents earlier this year complained to Western Cape Finance, Tourism and Economic Development MEC Alan Winde after loud music from the club kept them awake.

The suspension comes ahead of a new Liquor Act the Western Cape government is promulgating which will stop liquor dispensers operating in residential areas. It will also allow municipalities to set the times at which liquor can be sold in their towns.

Winde, who testified against Lev Cupid after a surprise visit to the club earlier this year when he asked them to turn down the music, told the hearing he felt the club needed to move to other premises.

“The warning is out there now. It is part of my campaign of saying I want responsible vendors and responsible users of alcohol. My warning is: expect a surprise visit if you are behaving irresponsibly,” he said yesterday after learning the outcome of the hearing.

The board rejected an application by Sulaiman’s lawyer, Lezelma Pretorius, for a three-month grace period to address the complaints. Van Dalen said: “The club has not done that in the 14 months since it opened in June last year.”

A resident who had complained, Lorna Mooney, said: “At last someone has listened to us.”

Club manager Piet Lucas said he felt sorry for the club’s 17 employees who would be without work.