Police give backing to youngsters' nightclub facing axe

A campaign to save Studio 24 on Calton Road has been launched after its owners agreed to close its doors next January.

More than 600 youngsters attend the club's under-18 Mini-Mission night which is held on two Saturdays every month.

One online petition has already collected 500 signatures in support of the venue remaining open. The club also plans to launch its own website, Save Studio 24, in the coming days.

Youth leaders have expressed fears for the safety of teenagers, who they claim will be forced to hang around the streets if the venue is closed.

The junior night caters for goths and alternative music fans. Police have agreed that the club is "well-run" and have given their backing to youth discos continuing in Edinburgh.

Studio 24 faced a number of complaints from angry residents who were upset over loud music and antisocial behaviour.

Neighbours complained about under-age drinking, noise and litter from clubbers, as well as music being audible through their walls.

Twenty objections were lodged with the city licensing board when it considered granting an extension to the club's 3am late licence last month. A six-month extension was passed despite the residents' challenge after the owner's solicitor pledged the club would close in the New Year.

Now members of Edinburgh's 6VT youth project, which provides a drop-in centre for under-18s at Victoria Terrace and also works with young homeless people, have pleaded for the club to be saved.

Fiona Horne, a project worker with 6VT, said: "Studio 24 attracts quite a specific group of alternative youths or goths.

"Before the Mini-Mission night started three years ago, the youths would hang around the Tron and Cockburn Street where they would often get into arguments with shopkeepers. There were also occasions when they ended up in fights with other teenagers for being goths.

"When they are in one place like Studio 24, they are much easier to manage and they are safer too. If it's closed, you would have 600 teenagers with nothing to do again. That could lead to trouble."

6VT worked with police and venues in the Capital to establish Club Zone Plus, a code of practice for establishments which host under-18 nights.

Gillian McArthur, who runs the club, said: "We've had many letters and phone calls from parents giving their support and asking where their kids would go if we closed. We want to host a meeting with residents to discuss their concerns and learn how we work together to co-exist."

Jill McLennan, who organises the Mini-Mission nights, said: "Many of these kids say they don't feel safe out in the streets so they would be devastated if we closed."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "Studio 24 appears to be well-run and measures are in place to deal with any disorder outside.

"The police support these kind of youth discos as they keep youths off the streets at night and gives them a purpose"