New city conference centre given licence
A new Stirling conference centre will be allowed to serve alcohol to delegates.
Stirling District Licensing Board granted a premises licence for the Barracks Conference Centre at Forthside Way.
While the licensed hours are 11am until midnight seven days a week, it will not be catering for members of the public walking in off the street.
Board members were told that the licence was required primarily for events and that there would not be any wider public sale of alcohol or a permanent bar on the premises.
Conference facilities, restaurant facilities, bar meals, wedding and funerals, club meetings, recorded music and live performances will also be allowed in the centre, which has a capacity of up to 200 people.
In their application, Inception Catering Ltd said: “The premises is a two-storey standalone building that was formerly part of a (now closed) military barracks.
“The building is currently being converted to provide a cafe on the ground floor along with a catering production kitchen. The first floor is being converted to provide a conference centre facility with a maximum occupancy of 200 people.
“The premises licence being applied for is for the conference centre only, which will host various events and functions. Alcohol will only be provided during conferences. There will be no public sale of alcohol nor will there be an actual bar. Alcohol will only be provided in the conference centre ancillary to food provided to conference delegates. The type of alcohol provided will be determined by pre-orders from conference organisers.
“Should other functions be arranged in the conference centre the applicant would like to have the option/capability to provide a pop up bar to serve customers attending such an event.”
The new conference centre is among former Ministry of Defence buildings which since 2017 has been transformed into a site for use by charities and social enterprises
It is the product of a partnership between Stirling Council and the Robertson Trust which uses money from the whisky industry for philanthropic purposes.