The entertainment licence for the Co Tyrone hotel where three teenagers lost their lives has been renewed, with a number of additional conditions added.
The Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown was granted a licence last year with a singular condition - that the venue provide two months’ notice to Mid Ulster District Council ahead of any proposed functions.
At a meeting of the local council on Thursday night which was closed off to the public, the hotel’s licence was renewed but several new conditions were attached.
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Among them were conditions that the Greenvale must submit a "suitable and sufficient risk assessment" to the council, as well as an ‘event management plan’ ahead of any events.
The event management plan must include details on security staff, queuing arrangements and means of escape.
However, in a statement provided to MyTyrone the council also confirmed that the two months’ notice for events can be shortened ‘if considered reasonable to do so’.
Lauren Bullock, 17, Morgan Barnard, 17, and Connor Currie, 16, died as hundreds queued outside the Greenvale at a St Patrick’s Day disco three years ago.
The statement from Mid Ulster District Council said the new conditions aim to add "clarity and certainty" to those involved.
“The conditions now applied replace the previous single condition and are intended to provide clarity and certainty for all concerned to ensure that there is no misunderstanding of any kind in the approach to entertainment,” a council spokesperson said.
There have been calls for a public inquiry into the tragic deaths of the three teenagers, while the PPS is currently reviewing whether any police officers will face prosecution over their actions at the disco.
Independent councillor for the Dungannon area Barry Monteith said ‘disco type entertainment’ was not appropriate at the venue.
"I have consistently said that disco type entertainment is not appropriate at these premises especially while questions remain over what happened the night Connor, Lauren and Morgan died,” Cllr Monteith said.
“All of this is extremely distressing to the families and those directly affected by that night. I fully support the families in their call for a public inquiry. Three years with no answers is disgraceful."
The full list of conditions attached to the entertainment licence is included below:
1. Entertainment is not permitted at the premises unless the Licensee has given the Council not less than 2 months’ notice of any proposed event involving entertainment. Where the conditions at 2 to 6 are satisfied, the Director/Officer may abridge the time in this condition if it is considered reasonable to do so.
2. The Licensee must submit a suitable and sufficient risk assessment to the Council in respect of any proposed event involving entertainment at the time that the event is notified to the Council.
3. No entertainment shall be provided at the premises unless the Council has confirmed in writing that the risk assessment submitted pursuant to condition 2 of this licence is considered adequate to address the safety requirements of that event.
4. The Licensee must submit an event management plan to the Council in respect of any proposed event involving entertainment at the time that the event is notified to the Council. The event management plan must include, but is not limited to, arrangements for the whole of the premises (inside and out), adequate security staff, queuing arrangements and means of escape.
5. No entertainment shall be provided at the premises unless the Council has confirmed in writing that the event management plan submitted pursuant to condition 4 of this licence is considered adequate to address the requirements of that event.
6. Events must not be advertised or subject to ticket sales until the Council has confirmed in writing that both the event management plan and risk assessment for the event are considered acceptable.
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