A SOCIAL enterprise fronted by a former soap star favourite and his wife has joined a bid to retain a community and arts venue.

Kevin and Clare Kennedy have become partners to the Synergy Centre in Brighton as it faces D-day on its future.

The Portslade-based actor, best-known as Coronation Street’s Curly Watts, and his wife are looking to run a dry bar (a bar with no alcohol) at the West Street venue which will offer a safe space for recovering addicts and TV studio broadcasting real-life recovery experiences.

Organisers of the centre, which operates out of the former Hedkandi nightclub, will go to court next month to appeal against a council decision to refuse the venue an alcohol licence

Steve Peake from the centre disputes police claims that their venue is “alcohol-led” and therefore not eligible for an alcohol licence in the notorious Brighton party street.

Mr Peake said the centre should be exempted because the venue’s main focus is on community support rather than alcohol sales.

He hoped that partnering with the not-for-profit Kennedy St and Co would add to the social welfare projects being run from the centre.

Partnerships are also being developed with the University of Sussex and its student union as well as a number of other health and wellbeing organisations.

Organisers are proposing to run a number of dry bar events at the venue but claim that they need an alcohol licence for music and live arts performances.

Mr Peake said the venue could fill a hole in Brighton’s nightlife for venues larger than the 600-capacity Concorde 2 and smaller than the 1,700 seater Brighton Dome.

He added that organisers are looking to recoup some of the £50,000 they have spent on refurbishing the site since moving in May 2015.

The site is due to be demolished next year to make way for a new hotel, shops, cafes and restaurants.

Mr Peake said: “We don’t know how long we have got but the landlords don’t know either, it could be for up to a year, it might be longer.

“We don’t want to walk away having lost a lot of money, between us we have spent between £30,000 and £50,000 on the renovations.

“We have overwhelming community spirit, we have over 2,500 signatures on our petition and 39 letters of support for our application.

“We cannot afford to go completely dry, if it broke even we would have done quite well, but we’d like to run the front venue and have an alcohol licence for the main venue.

“If we win the appeal, then we’ll be looking to make an offer to buy the freehold of the property and prevent what is one of Brighton’s finest venues.”