Malmaison won’t be a ‘bingo hall’!

A plush Dundee hotel insists it won’t become a Saturday night “bingo hall” after questions were raised about changes to its licence.

The four-star Malmaison has applied to the city council to make some adjustments to its licence to allow for more flexibility for guests.

Gilfillan Memorial Church, in nearby Whitehall Crescent, had written to the local authority for more information about the bid, and clarification on the use of the word “gaming”.

But any fears were allayed when the hotel contacted church members directly to reassure them over the changes.

Steven Simpson, general manager of Malmaison Dundee, said today: “The church was wanting to know what the gaming licence was for.

“It is quite a broad term and they were quite right to raise it if they felt they needed more information.

“The application is just a few adjustments to our current licences. As it stands, someone walking out of the hotel with a bottle of wine from their room is technically breaching the licence — having off-sales covers that.”

Mr Simpson added that the gaming licence means the hotel could have casinos at weddings and corporate events.

“If we want to cater for that, we need a gambling licence. Don’t worry though, we are not turning ourselves into a bingo hall,” he said.

“I was very happy to explain the legitimate business reasons for the adjustments.”

‘Gambling is quite

a broad term’

Bill Allan, secretary of Gilfillan Church, said: “I wrote to Dundee City Council on August 18, asking for clarity on some of the wording in the application.

“We were concerned about a couple of things, including the idea that drinks would be allowed to be taken off the premises.

“The hotel manager was kind enough to get in touch with us directly and cleared everything up.”

The application is due to be heard at a meeting of the licensing board on Thursday.

cgillies@eveningtelegraph.co.uk

Gilfillan Church (with the blue door) is next to the Malmaison.