A bar which lost its licence after a man died following a fight outside it has now been allowed to re-open... but with new strict conditions. 

The Vine, in Brentwood, is set to reopen after Brentwood Borough Council agreed to reissue a new licence.

The High Street bar lost its previous licence in January following the death of a customer following an incident on Christmas Eve 2018.

The licence committee’s decision to grant a licence to allow the bar to reopen came in the face of objections from Essex Police, which lodged concerns that owner Andreas Artemi - a former Southend United midfielder - will be managing the bar “by proxy”.

They said that it was this management style which led to the revocation of the premises licence following the death of 25-year-old Paul Wallington.

Instead the panel decided to reissue a permission for the bar to open on the condition that Mr Artemi was not the personal licence holder.

The personal licence is designed to ensure that anybody running or managing a business that sells or supplies alcohol will do so in a professional fashion.

The bar lost its licence following the death of Mr Wallington, 25, who died five days after being hit and knocked unconscious outside the bar just before midnight on Christmas Eve 2018.

He was taken to Queen’s Hospital in Romford and later transferred to the neurocritical care unit.

However, he was pronounced dead at 3.03pm on December 29.

In the aftermath of his death, Essex Police launched a murder investigation and arrested a 30-year-old door supervisor from Basildon.

According to documents forming the licensing application he had ten years’ experience as a doorman prior to the incident.

He has been released on bail until November 4.

However Essex Police successfully had the Vine’s licence revoked at the beginning of the year and have continued their opposition to the venue reopening under Artemi, who also owns The Vine, in Southend.

In a statement to Brentwood Council, Jackie Cooper, Essex Police licensing officer, said: “To counter police and council concerns he is proposing to oversee the management and operation of the premises as the designated premises supervisor (DPS), yet he is already the DPS at two similar premises in Southend, both of which have been recently updated with significant financial outlay and which Mr Artemi manages on a daily basis.

“Essex Police has inexplicable concerns that this will again be management by proxy of the Vine, Brentwood – the same management style which failed so badly before.

“It was due to the lack of overall management that led to the revocation of the premises licence following the death of a patron last Christmas."