New safety measures made permanent at Birmingham bar after alleged shooting
Tough new measures at a bar at The Arcadian in Birmingham are set to be made permanent following an alleged shooting last month.
Two people were reportedly left in hospital with gunshot injuries following the incident in Portrait Bar in Hurst Street during the early hours of December 18, West Midlands Police previously said.
Following the alleged shooting, the bar’s licence was suspended, meaning it lost out on trade around the Christmas period.
However, that suspension was lifted by Birmingham City Council’s licensing sub-committee last week after conditions for reopening were agreed between the venue and police.
The new interim measures meant customers at Portrait could be subject to a “metal detection search in the form of a knife arch”, while an ID scan for all persons entering the premises will be carried out at certain times.
The bar also agreed that it must notify West Midlands Police and provide a full risk assessment when it hosts new events or new promoters.
On Monday, it was confirmed that these strict conditions would be added to the bar’s licence on a permanent basis.
According to a report by the licensing sub-committee, which made the decision, it was clear the venue had “used the opportunity of closure to reflect and engaged appropriately with the police.”
It went on to say that the new conditions had been individually and collectively scrutinised and were considered “appropriate, reasonable and proportionate”.
A representative of West Midlands Police previously said that working on the measures had been an “invasive and difficult process” for the bar to go through.
He added: "It is a very detailed examination of the way they conduct their business. They entered into that in the spirit you would want them to with a view to identify the problems and put in place measures that will stop these problems occurring again.”
In a previous statement, a spokesperson for Portrait Bar said it was looking forward to working with the police and council to be able to welcome back customers.
The statement read: "We will not hesitate to implement further measures to ensure our dedicated security team is fully equipped to protect the safety of our customers and staff."
Portrait Bar can appeal the licensing sub-committee’s decision within 21 days.
Report by Alex Brock
