Brighton’s oldest gay bar, The Bulldog, is to remain open after its management reached a compromise with police
The bar in St James’s Street, which previously held a 24-hour licence, faced losing its licence after police requested a review following a string of violent incidents there.
The council instead shortened its opening hours – but both police and the venue appealed the decision, police saying the new restrictions were not harsh enough, and the bar management saying they were too harsh.
Today, a district judge hearing the appeals at Brighton Magistrate’s Court heard that the police, city council and the bar had come to a compromise, with management agreeing on new opening hours and to install an ID scanner.
The new licence allows the pub on St James’s Street to trade until midnight closing by 1am Monday to Thursday and trade until 3am and closing by 4am Friday and Saturday. The ID scanner will also be installed and used by door staff.
Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp said: “Our main priority is ensuring that people visiting the pubs and clubs in our city are kept safe and we felt passionately enough about that to appeal the initial decision made by Brighton and Hove City Council Licensing Committee.
“I have been keen that this premises stays open but I also wanted it to be run safely and responsibly. We were very keen for an ID scanner to be installed as, this helps prevent underage drinking and also deters anyone intent on causing trouble who know their details are on the system. This is already used across the city with great success.
“The management at the Bulldog have worked to make their venue a safer place for people to go and I recognise their willingness to work with us. We look forward to continuing to build a working relationship with them as they continue their hard work.”
