Durham council’s licensing authority dismissed repeated warnings about safety issues in the leisure complex where a student was killed last week, the local MP has said.

Olivia Burt, 20, who was in her first year studying natural sciences at Durham University, died from a serious head injury on Wednesday night following a crowd surge outside the Missoula nightclub in the city’s Walkergate centre.

Roberta Blackman-Woods, MP for the City of Durham, said she had repeatedly warned the council and the police that someone could be killed because the centre was not designed to accommodate big crowds.

She said she first raised her concerns as far back as 2007 when the first nightclub opened in Walkergate – which also contains restaurants, a cinema and a theatre – saying that its steep steps, confined spaces, low walls and sharp drops made it an unsuitable venue. “It really should never have been given a licence for nightclubs and these late-night events,” she said.

Blackman-Woods, who has been the Labour MP for the area since 2005, said she last formally raised her concerns about the Walkergate complex two years ago, but the council’s licensing committee was dismissive. “I’ve had quite a lot of kickback,” she said. “I was told that this was an important part of Durham’s nighttime economy and I had to stop slagging it off.”

Witnesses have described how a crush in the 100-strong queue outside the club on Wednesday night caused a barrier to collapse near Burt. The student, a member of the British sailing team, was pulled out of the scrum with a bleeding head wound. Attempts were made to resuscitate her, but she died a short time later.



Olivia Burt was described as an ‘exceptional sportswoman’ and an ‘outstandingly able student’. Photograph: Paul Wyeth/RYA/PA

Blackman-Woods said that since Burt’s death local taxi drivers had been in touch to say that they had also raised concerns with Durham county council about the use of temporary barriers in the complex. Speaking to the Tab student paper, one man said he had seen the barriers outside the nightclub fall on people before.

Missoula, which opened in the former pub venue in 2016, advertises Wednesday’s Game Over event as Durham’s biggest student night. The nightclub’s owners said they were working with the police to fully understand what led to the “terrible accident”. “Until that is concluded we are unable to comment further,” they said. “Our thoughts are with Olivia’s family and friends”.

Blackman-Woods said: “In the immediate term we need to get to the bottom of what happened on that night and lessons that have to be learned from that. In the longer term I want the building not to have nightclubs because it is just not an appropriate design for that.”

“I just feel absolutely terrible that this has happened in Durham because we are a city that really welcomes students and I have worked on their behalf,” she added.



In a statement given to the Northern Echo, Joanne Waller, Durham county council’s head of environment, health and consumer protection, said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Olivia Burt following her tragic death on Wednesday night.

“Since the incident, we have been working closely with police and have now begun a health and safety investigation. We are unable to say any more at this stage.”

Paying tribute to Burt, Prof David Held of Durham University described her as “bright and outstandingly able”. “She arrived last autumn to begin reading natural science with glowing references from her school where she was regarded in the highest possible terms,” he said.

“She had an outstanding academic record and was an exceptional sportswoman. Those students close to her have lost a wonderful friend, whom in their shock they grieve for, alongside her family and friends. The college has lost a bright and outstandingly able student. It is hard to come to terms with her loss, and we will miss her greatly.”