Brodick Bar plans get go-ahead despite neighbour complaints
Brodick Bar and Brasserie has been given the go-ahead to make wide-ranging changes at the popular bar and restaurant, despite concerns about reports of under-age drinking and noise outside the premises.
The decision was made at the recent meeting of the North Ayrshire Licensing Board which considered a variation of licence application to rebrand the restaurant and bar to allow televised sports and to create a service kitchen for the bar.
Owner Graeme McKinnon explained his reasoning to the board when he said: “We wish to rebrand the two areas of the business to encourage greater customer awareness of the two styles provided. The brasserie is, in effect, a fine dining restaurant on the verge of Michelin accreditation and the term ‘brasserie’ does not sufficiently reflect this, leading to customer confusion.
“In order to adequately provide a separate bar food menu, we wish to establish a service kitchen in the store area adjacent to the bar. Our plan is to prepare all food in the existing kitchen.”
He said they also proposed to rename the restaurant and the bar.
In considering the application to allow televised sports, two criteria, that of preventing crime and disorder and preventing public nuisance, were considered by the board.
This included two complaints from neighbours. One, who lives next door, said: “I have lived there for 30 years and had no cause for complaint about noise from the bar or restaurant until towards the end of last year with the introduction of regular weekend events in the bar area.
“The Saturday club vibe night is extremely noisy and the music is loud. The bass permeates through the cottage which has very thick stone walls. It has a young clientele; there has been shouting on numerous occasions and not nice language.”
She also said glasses had been left on her kitchen window sill, people were smoking and drinking and that drunken, anti-social behaviour was a problem during weekends.
Another neighbour, who lives across the road, said loud music was playing in the bar on Fridays and Saturdays. There were large gatherings on the street until 1am and beyond, he said, and it was so noisy his wife had to start sleeping in the spare room. He said granting the licence would exacerbate the problems.
Police confirmed there had been four complaints about noise coming from around the pub since September.
Mr McKinnon said he operated a well-run bar with a happy atmosphere and every night he asked people to have consideration for the neighbours.
He told the licensing board: “I would like to address the allegations of noise. We got monitoring equipment and went out to monitor and the loudest noise was a van at 65 decibels. We run a happy and tightly-controlled situation but face the same challenges as every other public house.
“My wife and I were very distressed about under-age drinking allegations because they are not based on fact and we would be happy to look at independent scrutiny. We provide a happy and safe environment where women are safe and are very proud of what we achieved. I am always on the floor looking for spiked drinks and drugs.
“We monitor the door properly. On a few occasions only have numbers exceeded 35.
“There were massive amounts of objections when we brought in a beer garden two years ago and there has been no obvious disruptions or complications from that. We planted conifers and built a fence to placate neighbours.”
The proposal was granted permission, however, it was noted that if there were any further problems it could be brought to the attention of the board which could limit or remove permissions.