Smethwick pub’s licence to be reviewed after stabbing
Sandwell Council will investigate the Soho Foundry Tavern in Foundry Lane
A pub that was the scene of a stabbing during an ‘out of control’ event will have its licence reviewed.
Sandwell Council will investigate the Soho Foundry Tavern in Foundry Lane, Smethwick, after a multiple stabbing at the venue during an event last month.
Two men were stabbed in the violent incident outside the pub at around 9.25pm on May 26.
Andre Gomes, 19, from Northfield, was charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon at the end of May.
18-year-old Edson Silva, from Lozells, was then charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife and appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court earlier this month.
A 17-year-old boy, who could not be named due to his age, was also charged with the same offences.
Following the stabbings, West Midlands Police said it had “serious concerns” over the running of the pub and called for its licence to be suspended until a full review hearing could take place.
The licence was suspended with immediate effect on May 29 but was re-instated with several conditions on June 12 following a request from licence holder Karen Clifford’s solicitor Duncan Craig.
Karen Clifford has been listed as the licence holder and designated supervisor of the pub since 2005.
Mr Craig, who said it was correct to ‘press pause’ and suspend the licence, called for the licence to be re-instated with a set of conditions – including installing CCTV and informing West Midlands Police in advance when holding big events – to ‘allay any concerns’ held by police and the council.
West Midlands Police told the interim hearing, which was held in private on May 29, that the number of people attending the event was “very significant for a small pub” and one that would usually require “significant planning and security measures” – and despite this, no risk assessment had been carried out.
Police were not called when the event began to get out of control and despite Ms Clifford telling the pub’s bouncers to prevent anybody else from entering as their behaviour was “unacceptable.”
West Midlands Police said the event was out of control due to the “significant number of people in attendance, the small size of the premises and the lack of planning.”
Sandwell Council’s licensing committee meets on June 25 to make a decision.