Dundee venue gets go ahead

A DUNDEE venue, which was denied a premises licence in December, has been given the green light by the licensing board after a revised application was submitted last month.

Janet Hood crop 2
Licensing lawyer Janet Hood worked on the revised Caird Rest application.

The licence application for new venue 172 at the Caird, in the former Caird Rest building on the city’s Nethergate, was initially rejected under the board’s overprovision policy. The policy states that the entire city, with the exception of Dundee’s water- front development, is overprovided in terms of licensed premises. However, the initial rejection drew crit- icism from members of the local com- munity, including city councillor Fraser Macpherson.

Licensing lawyer Janet Hood, who rep- resented developer Cosmo Molinari in his second application to the board, said alterations to the application combined with some public pressure helped secure a premises licence for the venue. Revisions to the application included changing a proposed cocktail bar into an informal dining area where alcohol would not be served without food.

“[Dundee licensing board] refused the [ rst] application because they’re not keen on new bars but they’re quite keen on food-led premises,” Hood told SLTN.

“We altered the application to show that it’s food-led. That’s why we got [the licence].

“[The board] were probably also per- suaded by a fairly big campaign that got more than 50,000 hits on the website.”

Hood added that the board’s decision on both occasions was consistent with its overprovision policy.

“They have consistently approved restaurants and refused off-sales,” said Hood.

“I don’t think the board are inconsistent. I think they’re sticking to their guns.”

Cosmo Molinari said he was thankful for the support he received from the Dundee business community and resi- dents during the application process.

“I can’t thank the people of Dundee enough,” said Molinari.

The new 172 at the Caird is expected to open in the second week of March.

Molinari said the venue will open with a soft launch followed by a night for those in the local community that sup- ported the application.