‘Eyesore’ Possilpark pub to become restaurant and function venue

An “eyesore” former pub in Possilpark is set to be brought back to life as a bar, restaurant and function venue with a focus on weddings.

Space Club (UK) Ltd has been granted permission to vary the premises licence for the old Brothers Bar on Saracen Street by Glasgow’s Licensing Board.

Stephen McGowan, who represented the applicants Qin He and Li Li, told board members how the owners want to provide a space for functions, which will be “particularly popular with the Chinese community, although the venue will be open to all”.

He added: “This premises has been unused for many years. It has been a licensed premises for many, many decades, but over a number of years now has been unused and become a bit dilapidated.

“My clients have bought the premises and their proposal is to bring it back to life as a bar and function venue. The function venue element is probably the most important part of what my clients want to achieve.”

Mr McGowan said the pair are“principally looking to try to attract wedding business” as well as family and community events.

“This is a locality I think will greatly benefit from the investment,” he said. “I think it will really benefit from an injection of life and vibrancy to resurrect it and to improve the amenity for the area.”

As well as the function suite, there will be a number of small private dining rooms, which Mr McGowan said are “popular among the Chinese community” and a bar.

The venue will be open for “locals to come in and have a meal and a drink”. It will have a full kitchen and a restaurant-style menu, with “different food options available although with an emphasis on Asian and Chinese cuisine”.

The owners secured planning permission to turn the pub, previously known as the Bowman Bar, into a restaurant and function rooms in October last year.

It will have a capacity of 250 people, with the function suite able to accommodate 130. A 1am licence was granted for functions while the rest of the venue will close at midnight. Mr McGowan added: “I really think this would be a fantastic thing for this locality. A really positive impact on what I think it’s fair to say has become an eyesore.”

Glasgow’s health and social care partnership (HSCP) submitted a representation, rather than an objection, to the Licensing Board, noting the venue is in “an overprovision area”.

A spokeswoman said: “This locality continues to raise concerns in relation to the measurable alcohol related rates of harm, which are greater than those of the Scottish rate.

“The latest statistics we have show that the Possilpark area is 110% above the Scottish rate for alcohol-related hospital admissions and 38% above the Scottish rate for alcohol specific deaths.”

She added there had been “very little information” on “the nature of the offer” when the HSCP compiled a response and it welcomed “the addition of food along with the alcohol”.

However, she said a closing time of 1am in a residential, and overprovision area, was “inconsistent with the licensing objective of protecting and improving public health and in breach of the board’s overprovision policy”.