A new “premium” cocktail bar could be coming to Newcastle city centre.
Bosses behind the popular MOJO brand, which has venues in other Northern cities including Manchester and Leeds, are bidding to breathe new life into an empty unit at The Gate. But the plans ran into opposition on Tuesday morning from city authorities, with Northumbria Police and local council officials trying to put a stop to the scheme.
If given the go-ahead by councillors, the MOJO bar would move into a former TGI Friday’s unit inside The Gate that has been disused for five years. Solicitor Paddy Whur, representing applicants Voodoo Doll Limited, told a Newcastle City Council licensing hearing on Tuesday that the company had been trying to find a premises in Newcastle for a “considerable time” and would spend £750,000 transforming the vacant space into a “premium” destination that will create 25 jobs.
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Urging the council’s licensing sub-committee to approve a series of variations in the premises’ licence that would allow it to become a bar opening until 3.30am, Mr Whur added that it would help turn around the fortunes of The Gate – which he claimed had “started to stutter and fail”. The leisure complex, in Newgate Street, was recently closed down for several weeks over fire safety fears.
But police sergeant Julie Cottiss told the committee that the area around The Gate is already “flashpoint for violence and disorder” because of the number of intoxicated people spilling out of bars and waiting for takeaways and taxis. While Sgt Cottiss did not dispute MOJO’s quality as an operator, she said that adding an extra capacity of roughly 300 drinkers to increase the availability of alcohol in the area, intensify consumption and retain revellers later into the night increasing the overall risk of crime and disorder taking place”.
She also dismissed an offer from the company to cut the permitted opening hours of the nearby former Players bar from 2am to midnight, saying that was essentially irrelevant because it is now an axe-throwing venue which shuts at 10pm. City council licensing boss Jonathan Bryce also opposed the application, saying it would have an “undoubted impact” in a part of the city already under strain because of the volume of bars.
Mr Whur responded that MOJO could “give The Gate a real boost in bringing it back to life” and would drive up standards among its neighbours. He said: “It will not add to the issues in the area, but in the round will make things better due to the level of supervision and the fact that other operators will have to match the quality that Martin [Greenhow, Mojo owner] brings to the area, as has been shown in other towns where he operates.”
The city council will issue a decision on MOJO’s licence application within five working days.
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