Love 2 Love nightclub on Worcester Road, Bromsgrove to close its doors for the final time

Former police officer Mike Taylor bought the Worcester Road venue four months ago, and has big plans to rebrand and refurbish the building in the hope of rejuvenating Bromsgrove’s nightlife.

Mr Taylor said: “The whole concept of the rebrand is that we’ll be operating as a bar and then going on to the night club later on in the evening, so it will be a bar in its own right.”

When asked what will be different about the new club, he said: “Everything.”

“Everything will be changed,” said Mr Taylor. “It will have a very industrial, commercial look inside - lots of metal, lots of timber, so quite like a warehouse. The colours will change, the doors on the front will be glass so people can see inside. We’re going to soften the look of the front and basically just improve the entire building.”

Love 2 Love has changed hands several times over the last decade, but owners have struggled to shake the club’s negative reputation, after several incidents of antisocial behaviour inside and near to the venue.

Mr Taylor said: “It’s been Love for 10 years now and there’s been no real physical investment into the building since it was Euphoria. It’s had a paint job here and there but nothing’s changed inside. They have given it a paint job and called it a refurb – well it hasn’t had a refurb it’s just been painted. If you want to keep a brand alive you have to keep investing.

“At the moment if people want a night out they have to go to Worcester or Birmingham. We want to revitalise the night time economy and bring people back to Bromsgrove as a destination.”

Since taking over, Mr Taylor has replaced the club’s door staff and is already implementing a “zero tolerance policy.”

He said: “Part of my policy going forward is that anyone who causes trouble, in or outside the night club – they’re banned. These people aren’t being allowed in to the venue and the atmosphere is already nice and relaxed. Even our door staff are saying it’s a boring job because there’s nothing to do but that’s how we want it. We have to get rid of the trouble to get the core customers back.”

Over the last few weeks, Mr Taylor, who is a member of Pub Watch, has met with West Mercia Police to discuss a joint approach between door staff and police to tackle rowdy behaviour in and around the club.

“The issue with policing was very clear,” said Mr Taylor. “There was no police support at the end of the night when it came to closing and no drive-bys. It did appear that Bromsgrove had been forgotten about – Redditch and Kidderminster had their cover but the night scene here had died down to such a degree that it seemed it had been forgotten about.

“There are residential properties around here and we want to move away from that rowdy behaviour and become a more respected venue.”

The Decades room on the upper floor of Love 2 Love is set to close on August bank holiday Monday, before the rest is closed down on Sunday, September 11 for roughly three weeks.

More details about the bar taking its place, including a new brand name, will be announced in the next few weeks.

Will you miss the old club? Send your favourite memories, stories and photographs to emily.collis@newsquest.co.uk.