Kirk Casino Given Go-Ahead
A casino is to open in a former Aberdeen church.
Granite Rock Casinos is preparing to start work on the £1.5million project at the Langstane Kirk after the go-ahead was given by the city's licensing board.
The Union Street casino is expected to create 80 jobs, most of them full-time.
The board provisionally granted an entertainment licence yesterday. It will be the first new licence issued for a casino in Aberdeen in two decades.
The UK casino was granted the right to open until 5am, seven days a week.
Planning permission is already in place and the company is now waiting on a gaming licence before starting work at the earliest opportunity, the board heard.
Soul Casino will open above the existing Soul bar, although there will be no entry via those ground-floor premises. Instead access will be from Bon Accord Street only.
Concerns about long queues forming on the pavement were addressed when the applicant said it would cordon off an area outside the building for those waiting to enter.
The queues are expected to shorten considerably a few weeks after opening when the first batch of memberships will have been sorted out.
Entry will be to members only, who will have to prove they are over 25.
The company expects most of its clientele to be considerably older, lawyer Tony Dawson told the board.
The first floor, upper mezzanine floors and a section of the ground floor are covered by the casino licence.
Mr Dawson said the fitting would be of the same quality used for the Soul bar, which was itself a £2million project.
He drew attention to the experience of Stuart Clarkson, who represented the applicants and has been in the licensed trade for several years.
"Mr Clarkson is going to place great emphasis on turning this into a top-quality casino," said Mr Dawson.
The board agreed unanimously to grant the licence provisionally after hearing that no objections had been lodged.
