Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Playback Bar: Licence granted for planned axe-throwing venue as ‘competitive socialising’ heads for Inverness

New venue aims to open in July if planning permission is approved

The new bar is planned for Academy Street. Image: DC Thomson design team
The new bar is planned for Academy Street. Image: DC Thomson design team

Councillors have approved a licence for a new-style bar featuring axe throwing and other games in the centre of Inverness.

Playback Inverness aims to open the three-floor ‘competitive socialising’ venue in the former Ponden Home Interiors building on Academy Street.

The Highland Licensing Board approved an application for the provisional granting of a premises licence without objection.

Conditions to supervise axe throwing

The Licensing standards officer recommended a specific condition, to ensure adequate supervision of the axe throwing activity to assist in maintaining public safety.

Axe throwing will only take place under the dedicated supervision of a staff member. All axes will be securely retained by staff when not in use.

Taran Campbell from Infinity Trampoline, which is behind the plans, said he was delighted at the development and is aiming for a July opening if plans lodged with Highland Council are approved.

He said: “Everyone was positive about the applications. I talked through the controversial axe throwing but they were welcoming when they heard the detailed explanation on how it can be run safely.”

🚨 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 (from Playback Inverness)Great news everyone! Playback has just had its premises license…

Posted by Inverness City Centre BID on Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Mr Campbell said participants sign a disclaimer saying they are sober and will follow the rules. A trained member of staff will give a safety talk and demonstration and oversee the axe-throwing games.

The bar will also feature table tennis, shuffleboard and beer pong.

Mr Campbell hopes a change of use planning application will be approved by the end of April or early May ahead of a 12-week fit-out.

“I’m itching to get stuck in and get it open and hoping to stick to an opening around July.”

The proposed bar will cover three floor including an outside drinking area which would look out over the roof of the Victorian Market.

Focus away from just alcohol

The board heard the idea is based on a successful concept from England, where the traditional bar offering of food and alcohol takes place in an environment where games, such as skittles, shuffleboard, table tennis and axe-throwing are offered.

Mr Campbell added: “It’s taking the focus away from simply alcohol and adding activities. Competitive socialising, so that those who are not drinking still have something to do.

“Having a good selection of activities you can spend your evening doing is will be something a lot of people will welcome.”

Are you interested in all the latest news and updates from Inverness? If so, why not join our new Facebook group.

Conversation