A bar in The Arcadian in Birmingham city centre has its licence revoked after underage girl was allowed in

City centre bar Levana has had its licence revoked by Birmingham City Council. The premises was under review last week after a 15-year-old girl was allowed entry on the night of June 2, 2023, and ‘became intoxicated’ inside the venu.

The incident at Levana, located on the ground floor of The Arcadian, had been brought to police attention after the 15-year-old reported being the victim of a ‘serious assault‘ later that evening. The alleged offence did not take place inside the venue and is currently a live police investigation.

Police said CCTV from the night showed the 15-year-old allowed entry with a group of friends, all of whom were under 18. Door staff reportedly checked just one of the group’s identification details and still allowed them entry to the bar.

At a licence review last week, West Midlands Police called for Levana’s licence to be revoked, claiming it had shown ‘widespread disregard’ for the use of an ID scanner on the door and had a history of failing to provide ID information. A representative of the bar said it was working to improve its practices.

In a written statement published on Monday (August 7), Birmingham City Council sided with the police and said the issues around under-age patrons were ‘so serious that they could not be tolerated’. It added that ‘nothing in the management style inspired confidence’.

The statement said: “The evidence, and in particular the CCTV recordings, had shown a complete disregard for the law by the licence holder and the staff alike. The operation had been managed in a way that was not merely irresponsible, but also illegal.

“The findings had shown a lack of professional supervision and control by the licence-holder company and its director; in short, the licence-holder company had demonstrated on more than one occasion that it was incapable of upholding the licensing objectives even when assisted and supported by the Police. Revocation was therefore proportionate in the circumstances.”