Popular seafood restaurant The Harbour Galley claims it could be “forced to close” amid a row over securing an alcohol licence.
The business, previously known as Galley in Whitehills, two months ago reopened under new management.
However, despite a “fairly successful” start, owner, Dean Clark, fears he could be forced to close the doors after Christmas.
The 27-year-old told the P&J that although he submitted the paperwork for a licence transfer as soon as he acquired the premises, the council replied that “the time for approval had lapsed”.
That means customers looking for an alcoholic drink to wash down their meals have had to go without – or bring their own.
‘Nothing council could do’
“We opened on July 27 and applied for a licence transfer from the previous owner around that time,” said Dean, who bought the restaurant shortly after moving to Ladybridge in April.
“I asked for an update on the process in August, but unfortunately the licensing standards officer dealing with my request was on holiday until the end of that month.
“By the time the officer was back from their holiday, Aberdeenshire Council said that the time for the licence transfer had lapsed, so there was nothing they could do.”
Aberdeenshire Council insisted that the restaurant owner had not submitted his request in time.
A spokesperson said: “Mr Clark failed to lodge his application within the timescale set out in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, despite appropriate guidance having been provided to him in good time by the Licensing Standards Officer.”
What does this all mean?
The authority continued: “In responding to representations, the licensing board, has made its position clear to Mr Clark and has provided advice to him on what is required to enable the premises to sell alcohol in the future.
“The business can still trade, the only restriction being that no alcohol can be sold or supplied without the appropriate licence being in place.
“Mr Clark could apply for occasional licences to sell alcohol until a new licence is in place or could, as he has been doing, allow patrons to bring their own alcohol.”
A financial struggle
Dean added that he was told he will need to apply for a new licence, which can take up to six months to be approved and cost up to £7,000 – a much bigger expenditure than the £220 fee required for a transfer.
If unable to sell alcohol, The Harbour Galley is struggling financially and he says will face closure.
Dean continued: “The restaurant has been fairly successful as we have many regulars and get quite a few tourists.
“I should be making profit now and I’m not even breaking even. I had to let go a lot of staff because I couldn’t afford paying them.
“We had 10 to 11 staff members when we opened the restaurant but only keep four now. Also, some customers are saying they will not come back until we have an alcohol licence.”
Seeking authorities’ help
Dean has desperately asked all Aberdeenshire councillors for help and has also emailed the SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast Karen Adam.
“If we don’t get the licence approved this will mean we will have to close in January, right after the Christmas period,” Dean said.
MSP Karen Adam said: “With regards to licensing, having been a member of the central licensing board prior to being elected as an MSP, I can attest that there are clear and strict guidelines that the board must follow.”
She continued: “If Dean is concerned that these guidelines were not followed, I will support his enquiry into this, and I ask him to follow the process above for an urgent response.”
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