Stephen McGowan

At the meeting of the South Lanarkshire (Hamilton Division) Licensing Board on 20 May, the licensing board voted eight to one to grant the licence, a U-turn on their original decision to refuse the application on a split vote in December 2018.

This latest decision followed an appeal lodged by TLT on behalf of Vincent Marini, the owner/operator, the outcome of which was an agreement to reconsider the original decision.

Mr McGowan said: “This is a significant outcome for our client and I am delighted for Vincent and his partner Sharon. We argued successfully that the overprovision policy was flawed having regard to the evidential base, as well as the way in which the policy was consulted on. Whilst there was significant local trade opposition, there was no evidence to justify a refusal under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.”

The premises originally opened in November 2018 but had been trading on a “Bring Your Own Bottle” basis only.

Mr Marini added: “It has been a difficult few months for us but we are now delighted to have secured the licence. Sharon and I would like to thank Stephen and the team at TLT for their perseverance and for helping us secure the right result in the end.”