Ian Yuill

Liberal Democrat councillor for Mannofield, Airyhall, Braeside, Broomhill, Garthdee, Kaimhill and Ruthrieston Learn more

The Draft Project – breaches of COVID-19 rules

by Ian Yuill on 13 November, 2020

I have been contacted by a number of people very concerned about breaches of the COVID-19 rules in Soul Bar’s “The Draft Project” during the Scotland – Serbia football match on Thursday 12th November. Many people referred to videos circulating widely on social media.

I contacted Aberdeen City Council’s Chief Executive about this on Thursday 12th November and urged that this was investigated. She has replied saying this would be followed up.

I completely understand people being excited during and after the match – I was myself. Coronavirus though does not take breaks for special occasions. We must all – individuals and businesses – stick to all the rules all the time if we are to stop the virus spreading and save lives.

The Draft Project has an “Occasional Licence” to operate from the Licensing Board. This is a temporary permission which has to be renewed at the end of its term. The law does not provide any mechanism to review the “Occasional Licence” during its term of validity. As a result, the Licensing Board is not in a position to react to the behaviour at The Draft Project.

The Draft Project’s current “Occasional Licence” expires on 22nd November. An application to renew this will be published soon on behalf of the business. This application will be open to the public for consultation. Anyone can make a representation during the period of public consultation and give their views. This application would then come to the Licensing Board and, after evaluating the application and representations, the board would then choose whether to renew permission.

In the meantime, the council and police are working together to investigate what happened on Thursday evening. They are considering what powers they can use in response to the incident. This involves Environmental Health and Trading Standards on the part of the Council.

You can view one of the videos shared on social media here.

You can read a statement issued by The Draft Project’s management here.

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   3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. Sheila and Alex Den says:

    Can you tell us the proper channel to make our views known to the public consultation about the Draft Project Covid breach ?

  2. Morningside Resident says:

    So Stuart Clarkson was apparently “shocked” at the behaviour at The Draft Project when Scotland scored their first goal. What did he actually think was going to happen with big screens and the venue booked out for Thursday evening weeks ago ! ?
    After the misdemeanours in Soul Bar a few months back which probably supported the Scottish Government’s decision to put Aberdeen back into ‘hospitality lockdown’ you would think that lessons had been learned.
    But no, revenue (= greed) over compliance and adherence to safety protocols.
    Disappointed that Council nor Police Scotland have no powers to revoke such a licence.
    I bet the rest of the Aberdeen publicans, worried about any further lockdown restrictions, would have more to say on the matter.

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