Hallowe’en party marks launch night as Falkirk nightclub returns after lockdown

Falkirk Council’s licensing board agreed to grant the extra hour so the club in Princes Street can make the most of what it hopes will be a very special evening with live music and DJ sets that will be broadcast on Pulse FM.

City and Sportsters managing director Paul Smith began by telling the board: “It’s good to be back after 19 long months.”

“I’m very pleased to say that during the lockdown we have made no redundancies – some people have left through their own choice to go and do other things – but we’ve managed with the assistance of furlough. ”

But he said it was important that the re-opening was commercially successful – and Halloween was the biggest occasion in the hospitality calendar.

He told the board: “We need to get off to a flying start and to wind the engine of City back up again takes a lot of effort.”

He said a 4:00am finish would allow them to “accommodate everything we want to accommodate”, including live music and DJ sets.

“We are able to run these events very safely,” Mr Smith assured the board.

He also said that the 4:00am finish would make it easier to get taxis at the end of the night.

“As you know, there is stress on taxis right now in town centres and by extending the hours that people will leave premises, it takes a bit of pressure off the town centre and off taxi ranks,” he said.

Councillors heard that all tickets for the event on October 30 will be sold in advance and that a maximum of 800 people would be there.

Mr Smith added: “Covid protocols will be in place, we are working through those now with advisers.”

“Regarding Covid passports, details as you know have only just been released and the regulations were challenged so there is still some refinement and knowledge to come through, so we are working on those.

“Whatever the law states, the protocols will be in place.”

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