THE owners of legendary former Newport nightclub TJ’s haven’t yet paid a fine of more than £50,000 for letting the building fall into disrepair.

London-based 121 Ventures and director Omar Saleem Aslam were both fined £25,000 following a prosecution at Newport Magistrates’ Court on June 30.

They were ordered to pay the fine and court costs which totalled £53,833 by July 28. However, neither have done so, according to information given by the courts and also obtained via a Freedom of Information request.

A spokeswoman for Newport Magistrates’ Court said the enforcement team can now bring them back to court or impose further sanctions.

The spokeswoman said that Aslam is currently trying to appeal the sentence and that the warrant for Mohammed Hussain, another director of the firm, is still active.

Hussain didn’t appear in court on June 30.

The club, in Clarence Place, was founded in 1971 and hosted bands including Oasis, the Stone Roses, the Manic Street Preachers and Green Day.

It closed in 2010 and has since fallen into disrepair. Newport council subsequently brought a prosecution against 121 Ventures, after it failed to comply with a number of notices.

According to the council the company was fined £25,000 for the listed building offence, £1,000 which is the maximum fine for the Section 215 notice (unsightly land), a victim surcharge of £170 and ordered to pay the council’s costs of £1,493.95, bringing a total of £27,663.95.

Aslam, a director and company secretary, was fined £25,000 for the listed building offence, a £1,000 maximum fine for the Section 215 notice, and a victim surcharge of £170 - totalling costs and fines of £26,170.

At the time, the court heard the company failed to comply with one notice issued by the council requiring them to repair and reinstate or replace red clay roof tiles on the front and rear of the building, which was damaged in a fire in February 2013, as well as replace missing lead flashing.

They were also required to repair broken windows at the front of the building and remove all weeds and rubbish from the front and rear, as well as fixing a broken section of the fascia.

The court was told the defendants showed “complete disregard” of council enforcement notices, and had failed to attend meetings with officers regarding the state of the building on multiple occasions.

Newport City Council wrote to the owners at the beginning of August again, giving them 28 days to comply with notices requiring them to carry out the remedial work.