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Club fails in court bid for drink licence
CRAIG BROWN
THE owner of a nightclub forced to close after being refused a late-night drink licence has failed in his bid to have the decision overturned in court.
Alfredo Alongi, the owner of Club Cube, in Musselburgh, had accused the licensing board of acting unlawfully by deciding the club’s fate behind closed doors.
Mr Alongi was denied the late-night licence in March after police complained about noise and violence at the venue.
He took East Lothian Licensing Board to the Court of Session, alleging that no vote had been taken by councillors who met to discuss the application, and accusing them of breaching rules by deciding on the matter in private.
But Lord Emslie, who conducted the judicial review, dismissed the claims, ruling that the board had followed correct procedures.
Since opening in 2002, Club Cube has been dogged by controversy.
Last year, more than 120 police raided the premises during a party to celebrate its first year of trading. They arrested 13 people, ten of whom were reported to the procurator fiscal for supplying drugs.
The application to renew the late licence went before the council’s licensing board on March 23.
During the meeting, Musselburgh councillor John Ross had put forward a motion that the application be rejected.
The court heard that the committee had legally adjourned to discuss the matter in private. When they returned, the board passed Councillor Ross’ motion without any apparent objection.
Mr Alongi claimed, however, that the council had made the decision in private, breaking the rule that states that all board decisions must be made in public. He argued that no formal vote was taken and, therefore, there was no way of knowing the views of the whole board.
Mr Alongi and licensing adviser Alistair MacDonald told the Court of Session hearing that they believed a decision had already been made by the time the board returned.
Mr MacDonald said that because no count of individual votes was taken, there was "no way of knowing whether the 13 board members other than the proposer and seconder had approved, disapproved or abstained".
He also disputed the statement in the meeting’s draft minutes that after the chairman Provost Pat O’Brien had asked if all members agreed, all had given their assent to the motion.
Mr O’Brien told the Court of Session that there had been no sign of dissent.
Lord Emslie wrote: "In his own words, he [Mr O’Brien] was ‘fairly satisfied’ that no-one wanted to oppose the motion or abstain, explaining that he knew the other councillors to be ‘a fairly lively bunch’ who could be expected to speak out if they did not agree with something."
Cllr Ross and Keith McConnachie, clerk to the board, agreed that the committee’s decision had been unanimous.
In his summation, Lord Emslie said he was satisfied that the board had acted correctly.
"Having carefully considered the evidence and the parties’ competing submissions, I have little hesitation in concluding that the petitioners’ attack on the validity of the respondents’ decision is ill-founded and must be rejected," he said.
A spokesman for the club said: "We are disappointed, but obviously we felt we had a case. There’s another licensing board meeting later this month, [and] we hope that our application will be granted then."
Club fails in court bid for drink licence
CRAIG BROWN
THE owner of a nightclub forced to close after being refused a late-night drink licence has failed in his bid to have the decision overturned in court.
Alfredo Alongi, the owner of Club Cube, in Musselburgh, had accused the licensing board of acting unlawfully by deciding the club’s fate behind closed doors.
Mr Alongi was denied the late-night licence in March after police complained about noise and violence at the venue.
He took East Lothian Licensing Board to the Court of Session, alleging that no vote had been taken by councillors who met to discuss the application, and accusing them of breaching rules by deciding on the matter in private.
But Lord Emslie, who conducted the judicial review, dismissed the claims, ruling that the board had followed correct procedures.
Since opening in 2002, Club Cube has been dogged by controversy.
Last year, more than 120 police raided the premises during a party to celebrate its first year of trading. They arrested 13 people, ten of whom were reported to the procurator fiscal for supplying drugs.
The application to renew the late licence went before the council’s licensing board on March 23.
During the meeting, Musselburgh councillor John Ross had put forward a motion that the application be rejected.
The court heard that the committee had legally adjourned to discuss the matter in private. When they returned, the board passed Councillor Ross’ motion without any apparent objection.
Mr Alongi claimed, however, that the council had made the decision in private, breaking the rule that states that all board decisions must be made in public. He argued that no formal vote was taken and, therefore, there was no way of knowing the views of the whole board.
Mr Alongi and licensing adviser Alistair MacDonald told the Court of Session hearing that they believed a decision had already been made by the time the board returned.
Mr MacDonald said that because no count of individual votes was taken, there was "no way of knowing whether the 13 board members other than the proposer and seconder had approved, disapproved or abstained".
He also disputed the statement in the meeting’s draft minutes that after the chairman Provost Pat O’Brien had asked if all members agreed, all had given their assent to the motion.
Mr O’Brien told the Court of Session that there had been no sign of dissent.
Lord Emslie wrote: "In his own words, he [Mr O’Brien] was ‘fairly satisfied’ that no-one wanted to oppose the motion or abstain, explaining that he knew the other councillors to be ‘a fairly lively bunch’ who could be expected to speak out if they did not agree with something."
Cllr Ross and Keith McConnachie, clerk to the board, agreed that the committee’s decision had been unanimous.
In his summation, Lord Emslie said he was satisfied that the board had acted correctly.
"Having carefully considered the evidence and the parties’ competing submissions, I have little hesitation in concluding that the petitioners’ attack on the validity of the respondents’ decision is ill-founded and must be rejected," he said.
A spokesman for the club said: "We are disappointed, but obviously we felt we had a case. There’s another licensing board meeting later this month, [and] we hope that our application will be granted then."