Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Customer breathalyser tests calm safety fears over Aberdeen beach axe-throwing bar

Licensing chiefs have approved plans for the Beach Battle Bar - complete with axe-throwing alleys - in the empty first floor bar within the Boardwalk, Beach Esplanade, Aberdeen.
Licensing chiefs have approved plans for the Beach Battle Bar - complete with axe-throwing alleys - in the empty first floor bar within the Boardwalk, Beach Esplanade, Aberdeen.

Plans for an axe-throwing bar at an Aberdeen beachfront attraction have been approved after authorities buried the hatchet on safety concerns.

Worries over the dangers of mixing an alcohol licence with the tomahawk-hurling alleys at the Boardwalk on the Esplanade were put to rest after police and council safety experts backed the proposals – on the promise all customers would face a breath test before being allowed to take part.

Aberdeen Licensing Board was brought round to the idea through painstaking planning by the owners, who had called officers, environmental health and licensing staff in to give input on the premises ahead of the licensing board meeting.

The over-18s-only Beach Battle Bar will occupy the space upstairs from the inflatable theme park at Queen’s Links Leisure Park, Innoflate, and will be run by the same firm.

Darren Margach, pictured ahead of the opening of Innoflate in 2018, is one of those behind the new Beach Battle Bar.
Darren Margach, pictured ahead of the opening of Innoflate in 2018, is one of those behind the new Beach Battle Bar.

In preparation for their hearing, they submitted around 20 detailed documents outlining policies on everything from how they would control admissions, throw people out and assess participants’ mental health to dealing with accidents, first aid, and deal with emergencies and complaints.

Licensing solicitor Stephen McGowan took 30 minutes to reassure councillors of the venue’s “zero tolerance” approach to mixing alcohol with the potentially dangerous attraction.

He said: “My clients have instructed specialist health and safety advisors – not just in relation to the axe-throwing but all activities have been subject to a full risk assessment.

“We have tried to go about this the right way. It is something we have hopefully painstakingly tried to do because of the novelty and uniqueness of the application.

“In order to take part (in the axe-throwing), participants will have to pass a breathalyser test as well as human common sense assessment of people’s behaviour.”

Key safety considerations which convinced licensing chiefs to back axe-throwing bar plans

The axe-throwing – which will cost at least £60 per half hour session – will take place entirely supervised and sealed off from all spectators.

An instructor will assess participants for safety before they launch the weapons around 15ft down the lane at a fixed target, and remain with them at all times.

No walk-ins will be allowed for the flagship activity and staff will be trained to assess people for intoxication – though all customers will be subjected to a breathalyser test before being handed the haft.

Axes will be kept under lock and key when not in use as part of the licensing agreement, with the proprietors volunteered to shut up shop by 10pm.

The Sunday Post blew off some steam at Scotland’s first indoor axe-hurling centre:

Mr McGowan added: “My clients took the unit on about three years ago, they were not quite sure what to do with it and since the pandemic it has been a dead space.

“The Beach Battle Bar is what is known in the industry as a competitive socialisation venue, which are becoming more and more popular across the UK.

“It is a fancy marketing term for a venue where the primary activity is not necessarily the consumption of alcohol but providing games and activities as the principle draw.

“The food and drink is an important, though an ancillary, part of the business: this isn’t a bar putting pool tables in, this is a bespoke entertainment premises focused on interactive activities.

“I think what has happened in the last few years, the market has moved towards people wanting to have an experience when they go out – rather than just going out for going out’s sake.”

City centre battle bar plans axed to make way for BHS redevelopment

Previous plans for an axe-throwing bar in the former BHS department store and indoor market off Union Street were felled by Aberdeen City Council earlier this year.

A concept image of the council's planned new market development in the disused BHS and indoor market buildings in Aberdeen city centre. The proposals put paid to plans for an axe-throwing bar and trampoline park in the former department store.
A concept image of the council’s planned new market development in the disused BHS and indoor market buildings in Aberdeen city centre. The proposals put paid to plans for an axe-throwing bar and trampoline park in the former department store.

The proposed battle bar had already been approved by authorities when the local authority announced it would buy the buildings to transform the central stretch of the Granite Mile.

Councillors approved the plans to make use of the currently empty first-floor bar within the Boardwalk, having been thoroughly reassured.

The premises will operate completely separately from Innoflate downstairs, which is not licensed.

Sergeant Gillian Flett told the licensing board: “I can confirm this application has really been through the ringer and mangle of police, Licensing Standards and Environmental Health – and with good reason, it does set a precedent and we want to get it right.

“Anyone can be affected by literally one drink, which is why Scotland has a drink driver limit of 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

“However this is axe-throwing so that is why I took the position of making the policy clear: if you want to throw an axe, have no alcohol before.

“The breathalysers being in place, as well as human assessment, should go some way to alleviate the genuine concerns the public might have about combining axe-throwing and alcohol.”

Praise for ‘safety being at the heart’ of the potentially controversial plans

Along with the two planned axe-throwing alleys, customers will also be able to play electronic darts, crazy pool complete with miniature golf-style obstacles, high-tech shuffleboard and – to some concern from police – beer pong.

But the bar’s version of the American frat house favourite, where players make opponents drink by throwing a ping pong table across a a table and into their cup, will be limited to a single pint of beer per player per hour.

Renovations of the Boardwalk, which closed its doors in early 2018 after its House Of Fun attractions hit financial troubles, are already underway.

Licensing board convener Marie Boulton said: “The raft of papers submitted in advance was very helpful.

“Mr McGowan and his clients have put a lot of work into making sure what could be seen as a controversial application was streamlined, with safety at the heart of it.

“Council officers and police have worked together to make sure what is before us is very comprehensive and thought through.”

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.