Wetherspoon have been given the green light by licensing chiefs to open a £1.5m pub in Stirling’s Spittal Street. Stirling Licensing Board voted four to one in favour of the licence. The board originally approved the licence back in September, but then rival pub operator Greene King sought a judicial review on a point of law and it was agreed the case be re-heard, which led to the board being asked by the Court to reconsider its original decision.
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said, “We would now ask Greene King to respect the decision made by members of Stirling Licensing Board. This would then allow Wetherspoon to invest more than £1.5m on the new pub and create 50 jobs in the process, which has to be good news for the city. Just as important, it would offer people in Stirling more choice in terms of which pub they wished to visit.”
The pub, which is expected to open later this year, has got a stated capacity of 707, however Wetherspoons have said that due to the layout of the pub that they would not expect more than 350 to 400 capacity. Greene King subsidiary, Belhaven Pubs, already operates seven pubs in Stirling including City Walls, No. 2 Baker Street and Drouthy Neebors. Meanwhile Wetherspoons are currently undertaking a £1m revamp of Ferry Jolly’s in Broughty Ferry. It is expected to open later this year.
