Tottenham community centre loses premises licence after shooting incident

The charity running the Selby Centre says it “remains committed to providing a safe, positive environment for residents”, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

The Selby Centre in Tottenham and (inset) a Met Police officer

The Selby Centre in Tottenham has lost its premise licence following a gang shooting last month – amid police fears of “retaliatory violence”.

A man received a “suspected gunshot wound to the hand” and other injuries after two people opened fire during an event at the venue in Selby Road in May.

The incident prompted the Haringey’s chief officer of police to request an “expedited” review of the centre’s premises licence, arguing it had become “associated with both serious crime and serious disorder”.

According to the Metropolitan Police, the victim wounded in the shooting was “associated with a local gang” – something, they believe, “heightens the risk of retaliatory violence, and further serious incidents linked to the premises”.

Premises licences are needed for events involving the sale of alcohol and/or late-night entertainment and refreshments.

In its licence review application, the Met said police were called to the Selby Centre by the venue’s security staff at approximately 10:50pm on Friday, 1st May, following reports of “multiple gunshots fired” within the centre’s enclosed car park.

CCTV footage obtained by police showed two suspected gunmen getting out of a silver Toyota Prius before opening fire. Spent bullet casings found at the scene suggest the men shot at least eleven live rounds across the car park.

In a document sent to the council, the police shared details of how officers, assisted by a police dog, “located a trail of blood within the car park and recovered a bullet”. Armed police and specialist investigators were also deployed to the scene.

After the shooting, the police said a male “self-presented at North Middlesex Hospital with stab/slash injuries, and a suspected gunshot wound to the hand”.

The Met said neither the Selby Centre’s premises licence holder, Paul Butler Selby, nor designated premises supervisor, Unique West-Alese, were present at the time of the shooting.

The report submitted to the local authority stated: “Those responsible for the premises were unable to account for events or provide any accurate details, responsibility appeared to be delegated between multiple parties, with no clear control.

“This points to a serious absence of effective management and oversight, with inadequate security measures.”

The Met also said that security staff did not conduct searches of attendees and that “there was no control over items brought into the premises, including potential weapons”.

The police added that “no accurate capacity management system was in place” and the Selby Centre’s security staff could only estimate that around 100 people were inside the venue when the incident occurred.

The Met also found that staff accounts did not align with CCTV timelines, “undermining credibility” of the employees present at the time.

The police also believe Eroi Gurgur, who was in charge of event bookings, did not carry out “due diligence or background checks” – this included failing to vet the person who had hired out the venue at the time of the shooting,

Police say children under 18 were also present at the venue, which had “no monitoring of alcohol being brought onto premises”.

Less than a month before, on Thursday, 9th April, the Met said it “received five separate calls reporting a fight at the venue involving approximately 50 individuals, with objects being thrown, and a knife sighting”.

This, the police said, “demonstrates an ongoing pattern of disorder, violence, and poor control of events”.

In its licensing review application, the Met informed the council that “decisive action” was needed to remove the premises licence from the Selby Centre to prevent further crime and disorder at a venue “which has seen a firearms discharged on site, serious violence including stabbing and shooting, and a lack of controls enabling criminal activity”.

“Patrons have been exposed to extreme violence,” the police added, arguing that the premise is “directly linked to serious crime and disorder, and the current premises licence is, in police view, no longer fit for purpose”.

Haringey Council’s licensing subcommittee was due to make a decision at a meeting last week, but cancelled it shortly before it was due to take place.

No explanation for the cancellation has been published. However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands it came after The Selby Trust, the charity which runs the centre, voluntarily gave up the premise licence, rendering the meeting unnecessary.

Responding to a request for comment from the LDRS, The Selby Trust’s marketing and engagement officer, Behlul Sulimani, said: “The Selby Centre, being a longstanding community which provides vital services, youth activities, and safe spaces which help reduce crime and support community cohesion, was recently the site of a serious criminal incident.”

Both the perpetrator and victims of the shooting “were not attendees of the event and were not known to Selby Centre staff or security personnel,” Sulimani explained.

He continued: “Security staff were present on-site and immediately implemented lockdown procedures, ensuring all guests inside the hall where a community event was happening at the time of the incident, remained safe. No other individuals were in the immediate vicinity.

“The Metropolitan Police arrived shortly afterwards, secured the scene, and commenced their investigation.

“[The] Selby Trust has fully co-operated with the Metropolitan Police and Haringey Council licensing team and has undertaken a thorough review of the incident.

“As far as we are aware, the Metropolitan Police are continuing their investigations, we look forward to hearing from them.”

Sulimani added: “The safety of our tenants, visitors, staff, and wider community remains our highest priority. The overwhelming majority of events hosted at the centre are family and community-focused, unlicensed events.

“Given this, [The] Selby Trust considers the premises licence unnecessary and remains committed to providing a safe, positive environment for residents.”

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