The strict rules at The Arcadian Birmingham bar following shooting incident

Tough new measures at a bar at The Arcadian in Birmingham are set to be made permanent following a shooting incident last month.

Two people suffered gunshot injuries following the incident at Portrait Bar in Hurst Street during the early hours of December 18, West Midlands Police previously said.

Following the 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.

What are the strict rules at The Portrait Bar at The Arcadian?

On Monday, January 15, it was confirmed that strict conditions would be added to the bar’s licence on a permanent basis. The measures were previously introduced on an interim basis. They are:

• Customers at Portrait could be subject to a “metal detection search in the form of a knife arch” 
• 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.

Why has the council imposed these rules?

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. “It’s a very detailed examination of the way they conduct their business,” he continued. “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.”

What has the Portrait Bar said about the strict rules?

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.

“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,” they added. Portrait Bar can appeal the licensing sub-committee’s decision within 21 days.