Newport Council Revokes Licence for Popular Gig Venue Amid “Serious Crime” Concerns

Newport Council has revoked the licence for a popular gig venue after police raised concerns it was “associated with serious crime”.
“Significant amounts of cannabis” were discovered by police at The Neon, in Clarence Place, a spokesman for the city council said.
Gwent Police applied for the licence review following a raid at The Neon on the morning of Friday December 29.
Two men were arrested in connection with the raid and charged with producing the Class-B drug cannabis.
Both were remanded into custody and appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court in early January, Gwent Police said.
The force then applied for a “summary review” of The Neon’s licence – a council permit which allows a business to sell alcohol and host events.
That review was held by the council’s licensing committee behind closed doors on Thursday January 25.
Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Newport City Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that “the licensing committee, after hearing all evidence presented at the hearing, determined to revoke the premises licence” for The Neon.
Generally, licensing committees can decide to amend or revoke a licence if members decide a premises has breached the conditions of its licence.
“The decision to revoke the premises licence was made on the grounds of all four [of the council’s] licensing objectives, but specifically around crime and disorder, and public safety,” the council spokesman said.
“The review was brought by Gwent Police after a warrant was conducted at the premises in late December, where significant amounts of cannabis [were] found within the premises,” he added.
“The licence holder has 21 days to appeal the decision of the licensing committee.”
At Thursday’s meeting, the press and members of the public were excluded from proceedings because of “information relating to a particular individual” and because of “information relating to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime”.
Meanwhile, Gwent Police confirmed it is continuing its investigations following the December raid on the premises.
The Neon did not respond to a request for comment ahead of Thursday’s council meeting. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​