04/07/2017
I am being asked why Mango is closing and as many of you have supported us since the day we opened the doors, I feel it is important to let you know why I took this decision.
Mango is in its 9th year and we have seen some crazy times and some quiet ones too. We have hosted everything from being the first bar in the town to offer £1 drinks, drag queens, live music, UV paint & Foam parties and also played hosts to the likes of Samantha Fox, Sonia, Nicki French, Scott Mills and many others.
I have met so many people and had some amazing staff along the journey and I thank all of them for helping Mango be the safe and welcoming environment it has been. Older ones will remember the queues into Market Square to get in on every day except Tuesday and Wednesdays and the membership card system that caused chaos which was imposed upon us when we opened.
Mango was only ever envisaged as a 6 month project and was opened within 7 days of getting the keys in one of the craziest transformations I have ever done. No one, including me, could have seen the overnight success and craziness that followed. However, the town has radically changed since it opened and we have lost many operators since, including Chicagos, Yates, Hogshead, The Slug & Lettuce, The Litten Tree, Stars, LJz and many others.
Whilst Mango does hold the latest licence in the town centre, the town centre's nighttime itself has been slowly suffocated by AVDC's policies and unwillingness to engage with licensees which have a differing point of view than their blanket ban on new late night venues. The establishment of two Wetherspoons has created a somewhat uneven playing field for smaller operators. Then we have the flats springing up everywhere in the town centre and the councils desire to encourage this. I suppose all these new flats do pay council tax though - I'm sure money doesn't play a role ;)
When you run a business for as long as Mango has been open and had the ups and downs it's not just one single reason that makes you decide to have a change, but the suffocation of our town and the decimation of the night time economy has played a major part in closing.
Whilst alcohol related crime and antisocial behaviour has consistently fallen since the establishment of The Licensing Act in 2005, AVDC has ignored this and strengthened its policy and powers in order to restrict trade in the night time economy. They are so obsessed with chains that independent businesses are closing all around us, not just in the licensed trade. The once unique heritage of our town is being slowly eroded in favour of a faceless corporate experience you can get in any town centre.
The Police have had resources cut to a minimum and have faced making decisions that fly in the face of those in thriving town and city centres where collaborations with the late night economy have seen more employment and a thriving choice of different things to do and places to go. They consistently back further restrictions and the council use this rather than the facts on falling crime and anti-social behaviour to justify its policy.
Many of you know I have always worked on more than one venue and on other things as well as the pubs and clubs, however I am now much older than when I started my journey in nightclubs behind the bar in 1987 and I have indeed had struggles with health.
For these reasons I took the decision to close Mango as you know it and move forward with The White Swan, Minions and a new project which I shall announce shortly.
We will be going out with a bang on Saturday with a night to encompass some of the best of Mango including those £1 drinks, a drag show from The Bitch, cheesy party music and a huge foam party as only we can do.
It has been a real pleasure, but hard work to keep a venue as diverse as Mango in operation many, many years after its original 6 month plan long since expired. I shall miss the fun and games and make the promise that you haven't seen the last of Mango and that unique experience will be back soon.
Kyle Michael
