GAY SAUNA IN BID FOR LATE NIGHT HOURS
Millionaire owners of city venue admit flouting rules ‘for years’
A GAY sauna next to a Rangers pub wants permission to open for longer.
The Pipeworks, just yards from the St Enoch Centre, has been operating outwith its agreed hours for years.
The millionaire couple who own the sauna – billed as the best in the UK – say it has opened for up to 24 hours in the past without problems.
They now want official consent to open for more hours.
A GAY sauna next to a Rangers pub wants to open for longer after flouting its hours for years.
Andre Graham and Seamus Sweeney’s The Pipeworks, just yards from the St Enoch Centre, has been operating outwith its agreed hours for years.
But the millionaire duo, who bought the neighbouring former Rangers pub Annie Miller’s last year, say they should now be granted consent for later hours.
They claim that their business, billed as “simply the best sauna facility in the UK”, has opened for up to 24-hours without trouble during the last 13 years.
And in a statement to city planners, their architects Mosaic, said: “The building is classified as a health and leisure centre use, with a vacant public house and residential properties contained in the same city block.
“The business has traded successfully from their current premises with the same owners since 2005. During that time, they are unaware of any noise complaints or of any reports of anti-social behaviour associated with their premises.
“The fabric of the building is such that any potential noise created within the property cannot escape through external opening windows, there are no windows.
“In a vibrant city centre like Glasgow where mixed uses are encouraged it is not unusual for businesses to be open at various times of the day.”
The Pipeworks, which has in the past been raided by police, has been opening between 12pm and 11pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, 12pm to 1am Wednesdays and Thursdays, and for 24 hours at weekends.
That’s despite a condition in its planning permission restricting opening times to between 11am and 8pm on weekdays.
The statement continued: “Residential amenity is obviously the main consideration and given that these trading hours represent the current situation and the property has traded for a number of years without complaint, it is hoped that it will be deemed acceptable.”
The Pipeworks advertises memberships to men only with a 35-man spa pool, a steam room, a dry sauna, private TV cabins, a lounge and a café.
It is well known among the LGBTQ community and is listed as “the best-known gay sauna in Glasgow” on one review site.
In online forums and on the sauna’s Facebook page, men have written about their experiences.
On one site, men talk about “losing all inhibitions” while in the showers, while others rate the décor.
The Pipeworks was bought by Mr Graham and Mr Sweeney for £425,000, with the former having previously been an executive with Colombia Tristar Films.
Mr Graham was also the chief executive officer for Sony Playstation before retiring at the age of 35.