Talisman Pub forced to close for second time after trouble flares
A troubled Wolverhampton pub has been closed for the second time in two years after a police raid at the premises.
Officers arrived at The Talisman to scenes of disorder and serious criminal activity.
Now council bosses have suspended the pub’s licence.
A full hearing on the pub’s future will be held on December 27.
The sale of alcohol has been banned for 21 days following the police just over a week ago.
In 2016 The Talisman, in The Scotlands area of the city, was found to be at the heart of an organised drug ring.
Police swooped on the pub seizing crack cocaine, digital scales and several bags and wraps of cannabis discovered in the bar and toilets.
The air was pungent with the smell of cannabis when around 40 officers with sniffer dogs arrived.
They also uncovered £800 of herbal cannabis in the upstairs living quarters and cannabis production equipment in the cellar.
Some 35 pouches of Golden Virginia tobacco and six large bottles of vodka, thought to be contraband, along with suspected counterfeit clothing was also found. Four people were arrested.
The police told the licensing sub-committee at the time that the then tenant had been struggling to keep control of the pub since being diagnosed with a serious illness the year before and a ‘power vacuum’ had developed.
Sgt Jake Flanagan, for West Midlands Police, described the business as ‘a den of iniquity’, saying it was ‘it was clear’ that cannabis was openly smoked on the premises.
The pub, in Wildtree Avenue, was closed for two months while a review into its operating practices took place.
It was allowed to reopen on the condition that the landlord, who had previously successfully managed the pub for 21 years, was removed.
The then owners Punch Tavern met with police to agree to terms to prevent the pub from closing permanently.
Five people were also banned from the pub when it re-opened, with the pub also being forced to upgrade its CCTV, set up an incident log, use the Challenge 25 policy to ask for IDs before serving alcohol, and train staff regularly.
Dozens of letters of objection to the closure were sent to the council by pub-goers who described it as a ‘community pub’.
A Wolverhampton Council spokesperson said: “The police sought an expedited summary review on the grounds of serious crime and disorder.
"At a hearing last Thursday, the licence was suspended and a full review meeting is set for December 27 at 10am.”
Punch Taverns recently sold the pub to Star Pubs and Bars.
