A nightclub has launched a fresh bid to become the first in Aberdeen to stay open until 4am – prompting fears other venues could do the same.
Bosses at Redemption on Belmont Street have applied to the city council’s licensing board asking to extend its opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
Last year, when the club was still known as the Priory, the local authority refused its application to operate beyond 3am.
But last night bosses at Redemption confirmed they had renewed the application, and argued the late opening would offer an alternative to casinos, so people are “dancing, not gambling”.
Operations manager Grant Wiseman said: “We applied for this a while back, although it wasn’t granted, but since then nobody else has applied for it.
“We’re in a pedestrian zone, so we’ve got a unique location compared to some of the other nightclubs in Aberdeen, and we’ve got no need for daytime hours as a dedicated nightclub that’s not open during the day.
“You look around the country right now all you see is 24-hour gambling and drinking in casinos.
“And if you look at it that way, dancing is a lot better way for people to be spending their time than gambling.
“It’s a well-managed premises, we’re not going to have people crawling out the door in the middle of the night.
“I think it’s about time that people get an alternative to the casino.”
Aberdeen City Centre Community Council has however objected to the plans, amid fears that if one premises is allowed to push back closing time, other venues could seek to do the same – increasing pressure on the late-night emergency services.
Chairman Dustin Macdonald said: “We objected on the basis of the council’s own licensing statement, which says that there should not be any licenses granted for bars or clubs after 3am on weekend.
“By reducing the hours you can sell alcohol you can decrease crime and disorder, which is one of the licensing objectives of the council.
“There has been nobody granted a 4am as far as I know, and the worry is this could set a precedent for the rest of the city.
“If we have multiple closing times it could stretch things from a policing point of view, a health service point of view, street cleaning – it would have a very big knock-on effect.
“We need to focus on getting people moved out of the city centre at closing time, and by bumping back closing time by even an hour it can interfere with the dispersal effect.”
Concerns over the extended hours were raised by police last year, who estimated that on a busy night more than 900 revellers could leave the premises at closing time.
However, licence board member Alan Donnelly said last night that new ways of supporting the city’s night time economy had to be considered given the economic downturn.
“The trade is in dire straits, and it’s really struggling,” he said.
“Pearl Lounge has closed down, Tiger Tiger closed down – more and more bars and clubs are closing their doors.
“Aberdeen’s economy has taken a dive off a cliff.
“As the local authority, we need to take a serious look at this application.
“The downturn is costing Aberdeen its cosmopolitan reputation. We’re still the oil capital of Europe, and we need to get the message across that we’ve got a sustainable night time economy.”
The licensing board will consider the application on November 15.
