Fat Sams nightclub in Dundee claims there could be more redundancies at the club after a decision on its application for a 4.30am licence was deferred once more by the licensing board.
On the recommendation of convener David Bowes, the board unanimously agreed to defer a decision until August to allow for consultation on a possible change to the licensing board’s policy on late-night opening.
Fat Sams had hoped to persuade the board to relax its policy to allow it to open until 4.30am to compete with the nearbyG Casino, which can sell alcohol until 6am, and at least a dozen public houses in the city centre, which have been granted 2.30am licences outwith the current policy in recent years.
The application had been deferred from the March board to allow for discussion on the overall policy but Dundee City Council senior solicitor Brian Woodcock admitted: “We didn’t get far enough to have a final decision on this.”
The board then agreed a recommendation from Mr Bowes to embark on a period of consultation over a possible new policy, which could create a three-tier structure and instruct the clerk of the board to report back in August.
Fat Sams general manager Colin Rattray, said: “I’m very disappointed, the consultation should have been brought in before they started making exceptions to their policy and allowed, I believe, 22 exceptions for pubs.
“Ours would have simply been the 23rd such exception.
“This has affected us badly. Are they exceptions to the rule or are we an exception to the exceptions? What is the rule?
“We just feel that we have been singled out.”
Mr Rattray had earlier told the board: “Since the casino opened in 2009, we have experienced a downturn, customers are coming later and leaving earlier, the casino services nightclubbers until 6am and we are just seeking parity.
“From our research, the casino has capacity for 1,700 but only 400 people can gamble, it is being used mainly by clubbers going for a late drink or to eat.
“They are leaving Fat Sams and creating vast queues outside the casino, and in hindsight we should have moved for a minimum entry price for the casino at the time it got its licence.
“The minimum entry was used to prevent club crawl and it worked well until recently but it’s free to get in to the casino, all you have to do is be a member.”
Licensing officer Conrad Trickett said he had some sympathy with Fat Sams as the police have worked successfully with the club management for many years.
Police opposition was on the grounds that later opening hours for nightclubs would put too big a strain on policing in the city centre. He said disorder and bad behaviour “peaks” between the hours of midnight and 3am.
There is a double shift operating for police between 9pm and 4am at weekends, he said, before reverting to a single shift. A lack of resources meant there would be a severe impact on the force’s ability to deal with crime elsewhere after 4am.
He said Fat Sams was “top of the list” in terms of incidents police had to deal with at licensed premises. Mr Rattray responded by saying he was proud of that statistic as evidence that he and his staff report everything incident to the police, “rather than sweep it under the carpet.”
“We also provide police officers with intelligence on a regular basis in terms of drug abuse,” he said.
The board agreed a deferral of a decision to prevent pre-empting the consultation period.