Police are not “actively participating” in a committee set up to improve Croydon’s ailing nightlife, despite policing being named as one of the biggest issues facing venue owners.

A night-time economy steering committee comprised of representatives of Croydon Council, police and businesses was established in February in response to calls concerns about dwindling trade in the town centre exacerbated by the sudden closure of popular bar Tiger Tiger.

Venue owners have previously blamed heavy-handed policing and a breakdown in their relationship with the licensing officers.

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The extent of the relationship breakdown was thrown into the spotlight last month when the force applied to review the licence of Dice Bar, alleging venue owners Roy and Farrah Seda had “systematically failed” to uphold licensing objectives meaning “patrons are regularly put at risk of harm.”

But Mr Seda said he felt “victimised” by police, who allegedly told him not to admit black customers and not to play bashment music – a Jamaican genre, also known as dancehall, because they deemed it “unacceptable”.

Police lost their bid to restrict the High Street venue’s opening hours at a council licensing hearing this month.

The force has since faced growing pressure to explain officers’ conduct amid allegations racial profiling and claims they unlawfully shut Dice Bar down for 24 hours in June last year.

RELATED: Dice Bar owner: Police 'do not want black people going out' in Croydon

Mrs Seda said a breakdown in communication from police was making Croydon a less desirable place to open a club.

She said: “It feels like we are just all just doing our own thing without police support.

“The partnership between police and clubs has completely broken down.

“There is no knocking on doors asking, ‘How are things going?’ just to keep an eye on things. There is nothing like that whatsoever, in fact it has been the opposite.

“Where do we get help or where do we get any support?

“We do feel alone and I think I speak for all the clubs in Croydon.

“I don’t have the confidence in them because what they make something out to be can turn out to be not as bad as they originally said - they have become heavy-handed.”

RELATED: Is heavy-handed policing damaging Croydon's nightlife?

Paul Bossick, owner of the bar Bad Apple, in High Street, said he had seen no improvements in the town centre since the committee was set up.

He said: “There isn’t any working with [the police] as such. They are not really actively participating.

“The only improvement - and I wouldn’t even call it an improvement, it is just getting back to a reasonable state - is the cordon of police officers has been removed.

“I think the police are very nervous about the position they have got themselves into [after the Dice Bar review] and if they are not very careful they will end up in a challengeable state over their actions.

“They have been, for quite a long period, very selective about what kind of licenced premises they want in the town.

“If you want to open a restaurant or a conference centre on a site then you wouldn’t have any problems but if you want to open a nightclub you will be told ‘no thank you’.”

RELATED: 'There is a problem with licensing in this town': Venue owners call on council to take control of licensing to save Croydon's night-time economy

Councillor Mark Watson, cabinet member for communities, safety and justice, admitted there is a “combative” approach between police and licensees.

He said: “At the moment there seems to be a very combative approach between the police and licensees. I think our own licence team hasn’t been engaged enough, we need to have a dedicated officer engaged in the licensing more.

“We want a night-time economy that is safe, welcoming and culturally diverse and we are committed to working with police, the licensees and the council to achieve that.

“There are lots of things that we could do but it actually does require us to all be around the table, all working together and all with the same vision and I think that is where we have got to get to now.”

Chief Superintendent Andy Tarrant, Croydon’s borough commander, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.