Bar restaurant included in plans for Collectors Hall venue for AC by Marriott

International private members’ club Soho House for people in creative industries had announced plans to open in the Love Loan development on George Street. But these were shelved last year when the company told members that “limitations meant we couldn’t accommodate everything that our members would expect”, including space for a gym.

The neighbouring AC Hotel by Marriott has already announced its plan to open an events venue in the A-listed Collectors Hall, which had been expected to form part of Soho House. At a meeting of the city’s Licensing Board on Friday, the hotel firm secured changes to a premises licence which will allow it to sell alcohol from the restored Collectors Hall.

Another licence has also been altered to allow remaining space, which had been earmarked for Soho House, to be used as a “hospitality type offering” — which is expected to be a bar/restaurant. Licensing lawyer Stephen McGowan said the licence holder for both venues was the Chris Stewart Group, the developers behind the wider Love Loan project, which currently includes the hotel, Hazel cafe and restaurant and Flight Club.

He added, after it “became clear the Soho House project wouldn’t go ahead”, it was agreed it “would be a shame not to try to make use of…the Collectors Hall”, which was the “ground floor part of what was to be the Soho House area”.

The hall will now form part of the hotel’s licence. Mr McGowan said: “That will allow the AC by Marriott to attract and be competitive with a number of other hotels in the city for gala dinners and charity events and weddings and so on and so forth.”

He then asked to shrink the licence for the remainder of what was meant to be Soho House. “The plan would be to operate the unit as a smaller bar/restaurant, hospitality type offering,” he added.

“The developers have not yet reached a final decision on which brand is going to operate that venue. There are a couple of irons in the fire.

“The developer has their own brands that they operate themselves, but there is also interest in the unit from third parties.”

Both applications were approved by board members. They decided the planned bar/restaurant would be able to operate until midnight.