Near riot developed at the front (8)
I believe the answer is:
anterior
'at the front' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'near riot developed' is the wordplay.
'developed' indicates an anagram.
'near'+'riot'='nearriot'
'nearriot' is an anagram of 'ANTERIOR'.
(Other definitions for anterior that I've seen before include "Previous, to the fore" , "Towards the front" , "Nearer the front; prior (to)" , "Coming before in position or time" , "Located before, in time or place" .)