An Angus pub has won a court fight to stay open until 2am at the weekend.
And the area’s licensing board chairman says the landmark ruling could call time on the current 1am closing policy.
It’s a costly outcome for Angus Council after a sheriff awarded Bar 1320 in Arbroath expenses in the case.
Board chairman Craig Fotheringham said: “This might be something the new licensing board will have to look at more closely after May’s council elections.”
And it follows a warning from another senior councillor the board was “driving a coach and horses” through the rulebook by giving some pubs an extra hour on Friday and Saturday nights.
Why Bar 1320 went to court
In August, Bar 1320 on Arbroath’s Millgate applied for the policy-busting 2am extension on Friday and Saturday nights.
It said it wanted the extra hour to help recover from the pandemic.
And it pointed to other bars in Angus which had been granted the extension by the board.
The Roods in Kirriemuir was the first to successfully apply for a 2am licence in January 2021.
And it was the chairman’s casting vote which decided the matter.
10 Bar in Forfar then won the backing of the board for its ‘tight ship’ approach.
But Police Scotland lodged an objection to the Bar 1320 bid because it breached the current 1am closing policy.
It said there were concerns about the potential for anti-social behaviour in the early hours.
However, the pub’s solicitor Ken Glass said there had been no complaints about the premises. And he criticised police for “parroting policy” without any specific detail.
The board voted 6-3 to refuse the extension application.
Sheriff court outcome
Bar 1320 appealed the case at Forfar Sheriff Court.
It said the board had erred in law and based its decision on incorrect material fact and an unreasonable exercise of discretion.
After taking advice from legal counsel, the board backed down from defending the decision.
Expenses were awarded against the board but the amount is yet to be finalised.
Bar 1320’s owner was not available for comment.
But the pub is set to be given its 2am Friday and Saturday opening when the licensing board meets on Thursday.
What now for the Angus policy?
Changing Friday and Saturday nights’ ‘terminal hour’ to 2am has proved controversial since the Roods relaxation.
On Thursday, chairman Craig Fotheringham will convene the body’s last meeting before the Scottish council elections on May 5.
He says the new board may have to consider if the current policy is outdated in light of the court ruling.
“In the case of Bar 1320, I voted to grant the extension, but that was defeated,” he said.
“The licensed trade has been decimated by the pandemic and I want to see us do all we can to support its recovery in Angus.
“But I will consider each case on its own merits.
“Policy is there as a guidance and I did not think the police objection for this one was sufficiently strong.
“That’s why I voted to approve, but others did not agree and that is the way it works.
“But I do think that the court decision means if we refuse another 2am application then it will be appealed and exactly the same will happen.
“It may have got to the stage where the new board will have to consider the 1am policy.
“However, the board can take away an hour just as easily as it can grant it.
“If we get police complaining they have been called a number of times to a licensed premises that comes before the board we can take action.
“We will work with them, as we always do, to help the trade and ensure we have well-run establishments across Angus.”
