BOURNEMOUTH’S controversial V Club will be renamed Halo and used for a wide variety of community events if the new operators can convince councillors to grant them a licence.

New owner Gary Bennetton has spoken out to reassure residents that he will be working with the council and police to make the venue one the town can be proud of.

V has been closed ever since a serious stabbing incident on February but Gary insisted again he has nothing to do with the previous owner Jim Beedham or club consultant Richard Carr.

If he succeeds in winning a licence today, he is pledging to offer live music and stage shows at the venue, as well as allowing it to be used as a community facility during the day, including dance workshops, art exhibitions, movies, DJ classes, clothing sales, charity events and drop-in guidance sessions.

Gary, who has run the Orange Rooms in Southampton for 12 years and will open Orange Rooms in Bournemouth later in the summer, said: “We are not looking at Halo, Bournemouth as a short-term proposition.

“Like our Southampton site, where we similarly have an excellent relationship with the police and local authorities, I really hope to be celebrating Halo Bournemouth’s 12th birthday party in many years to come.”

He said he had already attended his first Pub Watch meeting, despite not yet having a licence, and added: “The last two months have been a rollercoaster.

"It has felt like we have been fighting a battle on two fronts, as at first we had to convince everyone we were nothing whatsoever to do with the previous owners, which we have now achieved, and then we had to convince everyone we can and will run a fully compliant venue, which we hope we have now done.”

He said the venue would generate up to 35 new jobs and hoped they would be able to open for the forthcoming bank holiday weekend.