One of Dundee’s oldest and best-known pubs is fighting to hold on to its extended licence for a pavement cafe after a neighbour alleged her daughter had been harassed by some of the clientele.
Owner of the Ship Inn and Waterfront Restaurant Stephen Cumming appeared before the city’s licensing board on Thursday to represent the business alongside his solicitor Ken Glass from legal firm Baillies.
At the start of the month the Broughty Ferry venue which dates back around 150 years and overlooks the River Tay from Fisher Street ran into bother with resident Jacquelyn Gibb of Jetty Lane.
She complained about the establishment after a large and noisy crowd spilled out on to the road, preventing her from driving her car. In frustration she contacted Ferry councillor Rod Wallace, who is also the licensing board convener.
“The amount of people standing and sitting outside the pub drinking was disgraceful,” wrote Mrs Gibb. “They were sitting on the pavements and standing on the road drinking alcohol purchased from the Ship Inn.
“The noise from the crowd was also terrible. I phoned and reported the matter to the police but this seemed to have little effect.
“At the moment the pub is keeping beer barrels and ropes on the road in front of the pub. This is to stop anybody parking there, therefore creating more space for people to stand drinking.
“This is surely illegal and I would like somebody to look into all of my complaints as it is very distressful for myself and my family.
“My teenage daughter won’t walk pass the pub now when people are outside because of men whistling and shouting comments to her.”BoisterousThe Ship Inn and Waterfront Restaurant has a licence to operate a pavement cafe which accommodates a small number of tables.
Despite Mrs Gibb’s concerns Mr Glass, representing the venue, said he did not interpret her remarks as a direct complaint against the pavement cafe itself. Instead he explained that on the day in question there was a group of “boisterous and noisy” women who were later denied service due to their intoxicated state.
“I believe that was the issue of noise on that day,” said Mr Glass. “Mr Cumming did try to demark the pavement cafe by putting some beer barrels out to mark out the area. We have no idea why Mrs Gibb objected to the barrels but they have now been removed.”
The solicitor said the pub in general enjoyed good relations with residents and said Mrs Gibb and her sister, who also lives close by, were the only exceptions. He went on to suggest that there was a historic reason for the apparent bad blood which stretched back to Mrs Gibb’s father, who had owned a number of properties in Jetty Lane.
“It is clear that Mrs Gibb and her sister view Jetty Lane as ‘their street’ due to the history connected with their father,” he said. “The animosity seems to have got worse since one of the sisters broke rank as it were and sold her property to the Ship Inn.
“We accept there was an issue on that particular day but it was dealt with then. This was a one-off incident.”
Mr Wallace said he would recommend the pavement licence be retained when the board make their decision on June 16.