Falkirk pub allowed to reduce number of door stewards

Falkirk Council’s licensing board heard that the pub, now owned by Heineken, is well-run by a family and an experienced team of staff and that any trouble is always dealt with quickly and effectively.

The bar’s representative, solicitor Janet Hood, told the board that in the past few years there had only been a handful of incidents – none of which had been the tenants’ fault and all of which were dealt with appropriately.

The bar needs to have a minimum of two fully licensed stewards on duty on Fridays and Saturdays from 9pm until 1am and on a Sunday from 7pm to midnight.

Ms Hood said: “There is no requirement for such a high level of stewarding on a weekly basis.

“This change will give them more flexibility – they want to make sure they have the right number of stewards on the door at the right time.

“There will still be more stewards on days my clients feel they need them, such as local derbys or Old Firm games, for example.”

Councillor Lorna Binnie asked how they would make the decision to increase the number of stewards.

Ms Hood said: “My clients have been operating these premises for 20 years – they are aware of things that are happening in their locality and of what happens in their community and they will ‘steward up’ accordingly.”

The board granted the request to reduce the stewards to a minimum of one during the stated hours.