City pub rapped after police raise ‘public safety’ concerns

Brewery firm Greene King has vowed to improve its standards at one of its pubs was flagged by police due to concerns about public safety.

An underage person was reportedly able to drink in the Man of Gwent pub in Newport “unchallenged”, and in a separate incident a man allegedly made a weapon by placing a pool ball in a sock during a fight.

In a third incident, a member of the pub’s door staff was allegedly “slammed into a wall” after asking for identification from a man who had “white powder below his nose”.

Newport City Council’s licensing committee met on Wednesday July 31 to review the pub’s premises licence, after a Gwent Police inspector raised concerns the incidents at the Man of Gwent were “undermining public safety and protection of children from harm”.

Blind spot

At the meeting, police licensing officer PC Dakin described the three incidents, and said a visit to the premises had also found a blind spot in the CCTV system.

Newport Council licensing manager Alastair Dearling said Greene King had gone through “significant mitigation and mediation” with the police and council following the incidents, and had accepted new, tougher licensing conditions proposed by the two organisations.

Ewen Macgregor, a solicitor for TLT, spoke at the committee meeting on behalf of Greene King, and apologised “for the circumstances that gave rise to this particular review” of the licence.

He said the firm had “refreshed” staff training, had “engaged” with the police and council, and had “changed the management and operation” of the Man of Gwent.

The new designated premises supervisor, he added, has eight years’ experience in the trade, including at local pubs, and has just completed “extensive and comprehensive training”.

A new conditions agreed between Greene King and the council include tougher CCTV rules, and the camera “blind spot” has also been addressed.

Mr Macgregor said the firm had also introduced more staff training and recently contracted a new team to provide door security at the pub, which is in Chepstow Road.

Cllr Kate Thomas, chairing the licensing committee, noted the previous mediation and the new set of conditions imposed on the Man of Gwent.

She said the committee accepted Greene King was “committed to upholding the principles” of the licensing rules, and is “confident that everything is in place now to manage the premises well”.