A north-east nightspot could be forced to close after police blocked its bid for extended opening hours – amid fears the move could stretch resources.
The force said extra officers would have to be drafted in if The Cube Bar in Peterhead town centre was allowed to trade into the early hours every weekend.
In an objection to the club’s plan, police said any hours extension could tie-up officers and even prevent them from attending emergency calls.
Members of the Aberdeenshire Licensing Board unanimously rejected the club’s bid for a change to its opening times after hearing the police’s concerns.
The venue’s owner, Carl-Henning Hansen, said he was considering an appeal.
The Chapel Street venue, which opens until 1am at weekends, applied for an extension to 3am as part of efforts to keep the business afloat.
Representing the club at a licensing board meeting in Peterhead, solicitor Andrew Bruce stressed that no residents living around the bar objected.
“I fail to see how opening a premises on Chapel Street for two further hours will have any impact on police demand,” he said.
He said officers were already “ever present” in and around the town centre at weekends.
Mr Bruce explained that in keeping with current trends, most revellers did not arrive at the bar until around midnight.
“This means my client only realistically trades for about an hour before he has to close the doors,” he said.
“If this continues then the club may become financially unviable and as a result, he may have to close the premises which would result in redundancies for bar staff and security staff.”
He added that the 150-capacity club had a good track record.
Mr Hansen, who took over the venue 12 years ago, said: “It’s clear to me that our customers are going to start coming out later and later and go to the other dance clubs in Peterhead, because it doesn’t make sense to go somewhere for just half an hour.”
Police licensing inspector Tom Lawson told the board: “If the premises were to be allowed to open until 3am, patrons would be spilling out into that area – along with patrons from other clubs – and that would certainly create a policing issue as far as we are concerned.
“We would need extra numbers and resources to police this.”