A NEWPORT nightclub has had its licence suspended for three months after breaching coronavirus regulations.

Newport council’s licensing sub-committee found The Courtyard, on Cambrian Road in the city centre, opened as a nightclub on July 24 and July 25 when it was “fully aware they were unable to operate as a nightclub”.

The committee also felt that by providing disco lights, a dance floor, and loud DJ music, the club “encouraged people to dance”, a council report says.

Social media evidence showed a photo of a packed dance floor with the words “it was meant to be a quiet one”, the report says.

CCTV also showed door staff in the dance floor area who did “little or nothing to prevent customers from adhering to social distancing rules at tables or on the dance floor itself”.

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“Indeed, one clip showed a member of the door staff seemingly endorsing what was taking place on the dance floor,” the report adds.

It says: “Although the committee took on board that the premise conceded that ‘they simply got it wrong’, it begged the question, and asked itself, why would a responsible premises license holder get something so drastically wrong on one night, and continue in the same vein on the following night.

“The committee concluded that the management of the premises was fully aware of what was happening on the premises, and had no consideration for its staff or its customers’ safety, nor indeed the impact it may have on the broader community as highlighted by the submissions from the health board.

“The committee appreciated that although these are unprecedented and challenging times, it considered that any reasonable person who viewed the footage presented in evidence would have been shocked and extremely disappointed by the total irresponsibility displayed at the premises in the context of the pandemic.”

The committee concluded the nightclub acted “in an extremely irresponsible manner contrary to Covid 19 regulations”.

Owner of The Courtyard, Iftekhar Harris, said he is considering appealing the decision.

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Iftekhar Harris

Mr Harris said the incidents related to its opening weekend when a large number of people gathered outside the nightclub.

“I am very sorry that it happened,” he said.

“It happened not as a direct result of any malice, it was a mistake made.

“It would have been easier if they said no DJs and do not open.

“It was almost like leading us into a trap.”

Mr Harris said four DJs working at the time did not follow the rules and were suspended as a result.

“For our first weekend of operating I think it’s unjust,” he said.

“The decision is not the right decision.

“We expected to be told off, that should have happened weeks ago.

“We should have been told off big time and given a warning.”