Sheffield queer bar forced to permanently close accuses police of ‘holding shotgun to our heads’
Queer Junction in Sheffield has closed after its opening hours were cut. (Instagram/@thegayquarter)
A gay club in Sheffield, England, has closed its doors for good – with its owner accusing police of “having a shotgun held to our heads”.
The director of Queer Junction congratulated South Yorkshire Police for “shutting us down”, saying the bar had been forced out of business after its hours were restricted following a knife incident.
Queer Junction’s license was forced shut in November 2022 after a member of the door staff was stabbed in the hand during an altercation with a woman who had been kicked out of the venue earlier that night, according to local media.
The local council’s licensing committee suspended Queer Junction’s license the next day. This remained in place until 13 December, when the bar agreed to a six-week trial period of shorter trading hours – closing at 4am instead of 6am.
At the time, South Yorkshire Police said it had reached a voluntary agreement with the venue.
The force cited analysis of crime reports it said whoed Queer Junction and other nearby gay bar Dempseys “are the licensed premises associated with the highest volume of crime reports in Sheffield”.
The sole director of Queer Junction, who asked not to be named for personal reasons, made a number of allegations and insinuations towards South Yorkshire Police, including shutting the bar down being the authority’s “ultimate endgame”, in a 10-page open letter.
They confirmed to PinkNews the bar permanently ceased trading on 4 January.
In their letter, addressed to South Yorkshire Police, as well as members of Sheffield Council, the director attacked the decision to cut its opening hours as flawed.
They accused police of over-reporting the number of alleged incidents assigned to the bar, which they said was eventually revised down by three-quarters.
Requests from the bar for “further support and resources to deal with crime in the area” had fallen “on deaf ears”, they said.
Queer Junction’s director told PinkNews the opening hours trial meant the bar had been “financially squeezed” and “unable to trade properly”.
“We decided that rather than drag the bar through weeks more of losses it was best to close it down now,” they said – since it was not hopeful of being able to return to the 6am closing time,” they said.
Ultimately, the director felt police saw the Gay Quarter (where the bars are located) as “a headache” and ponders the idea of whether businesses in the area are being specifically targeted.
Police told PinkNews they had responded to an incident and a 25-year-old was arrested, later going on to plead guilty to two charges and sentenced to two years in prison.
South Yorkshire Police superintendent Benn Kemp confirmed the letter had been “received and reviewed” by the chief constable, who would respond privately.
Kemp confirmed the bar had made its own decision to close and police had “taken no further action in relation to the venue”.
In relation to the crime rate data, South Yorkshire Police said the data had been discussed “at length” with Queer Junction.
“Police collect a range of data, classified in a range of different ways, and we have provided various data sets and analysis to Queer Junction since November 2022.”
The force also reiterated a November statement in relation to providing support to improve crime rates in the area, which included having the venues included in nighttime patrol plans, as well as working to introduce permanent CCTV cameras to the area.
