City centre club has licence reviewed as police investigate alleged sexual assault
Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter
A Newport city centre nightclub owner says he “looks forward to reopening the venue” after its licence was reviewed following an alleged sexual assault on the premises.
Jack Bannister runs the Greyhound, in High Street, which reportedly announced at the end of September that it was closing down.
The Greyhound had its licence reviewed this week after Gwent Police alleged the premises was “associated with serious crime”.
Members of Newport council’s licensing sub-committee gathered on Tuesday morning (October 24) for a behind-closed-doors meeting to review the Greyhound’s licence.
Such meetings are usually open, but the committee decided to exclude members of the press and public from that section of Tuesday’s meeting because of what it called “information relating to a particular individual”.
In line with council policy, the licensing sub-committee typically has to announce the outcome of any licence reviews within five working days of a meeting taking place.
Resolution
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, Luke Elford, a solicitor representing licence holder Mr Bannister, said the parties involved were working together “to a successful resolution”.
“The Greyhound Tavern was subject to an application for summary review following an allegation of a serious incident at the premises,” Mr Elford said. “We have, and continue to, assist the police with their enquiries.”
Mr Elford added that Mr Bannister “looks forward to reopening the venue in due course”.
The Greyhound reportedly announced in late September, via a Facebook post, that it was closing “for good”.
A notice later appeared on the club’s front window, stating police had applied to the council for a summary review of the premises licence.
“In the opinion of a senior police officer, the premises are associated with serious crime,” the council notice read.
Gwent Police continue to appeal for information regarding an alleged sexual assault “believed to have happened in The Greyhound pub” at around 11.55pm on Saturday September 9.
The alleged victim was a “teenage girl”, and two people who were arrested in connection with the police investigation – a 28-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, both from Newport – remain on police bail.
Enquiries are “ongoing”, a Gwent Police spokesperson told the LDRS, and detectives want to hear from anyone who may have seen anything that could help with the investigation, including anyone who was in the Greyhound between 11.30pm and 12.30am that night.
Anyone with information that could help the investigation should contact Gwent Police by calling 101, quoting log reference 2300305747.
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Day after day after day it’s new sexual assaults by men (and in this instance a woman too it seems!) But are the media reporting the increasing violent and sex crimes against women by men? No they are constantly banging on against transgender people.
It ticks me off! Nobody that really cares about women’s safety is wasting their time on this media led campaign. Let’s focus on the real violent criminal demographics like the assailant creeps in this story instead and actually do something for the cause instead of wilfully misrepresenting it in order to bludgeon the largely uninvolved.