Corn Exchange is given 3am licence
A Stirling bar is set to become a late night entertainment venue at weekends.
Corn Exchange was granted a licence to stay open until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays at a meeting of the council’s licensing board.
Bosses now plan to plough £150,000 into the venue creating two large dance floors and stage.
Police Scotland representatives had no objections to a change to opening hours, but stressed they wanted four stewards available on the premises on Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm until closing at 3am given the premises were operating over two floors, with at least two stewards on site from 8pm.
Management agreed, saying the safety of their staff and customers was a priority.
Police told the Stirling Council’s licensing board that an incident took place at the bar on December 20 when someone was allegedly assaulted on the upper floor after a glass was thrown and the trouble had spilled out on to the street when those involved had been kicked out.
But they added it had been “a particular set of circumstances” and that they had no record of any other incidents.
Bosses from Belhaven/Greene King, owners of the Corn Exchange, said on that night they had been let down by expected stewarding numbers.
They added that it was their managers who called police. They had since spoken to the stewarding company to ensure the situation did not arise again.
The bosses, who had been in discussions with licensing officials and police after previous plans to change their licence had attracted objections, told the board they planned to plough £150,000 into the Corn Exchange, including removing some seating areas and creating two large dance floors - one downstairs and another upstairs - each around roughly half the available area.
A downstairs stage would also be created.
Board chairman, Councillor Danny Gibson had asked the applicants: “When does a pub stop being a pub and then become a nightclub?”.
He added: “Lots of pubs are very large spaces. How would you distinguish yourselves?”
Belhaven solicitor Andrew Hunter told the board: “The proposal is to have entertainment from 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays, something like an acoustic artists or singers with guitars. From 8pm stewarding will commence and there will be a DJ and dance floor brought into use.
“We are putting our money where our mouth is and showing we are different from other types of premises which are just large pubs. We believe ourselves to be an entertainment venue, not a pub with entertainment.
“Recent experience of the premises is that they are very much a late night entertainment venue and this investment is to complement that.
“We expect and hope that the engagement with licensing and police has addressed any concerns they may have had.”
A recess had been called following a heated debate between board members and licensing officials over the criteria for making a site visit, after the members said they felt a visit to the premises would be useful, however ultimately this was disregarded.