A RUGBY club has been told to install CCTV and give police 14 days’ notice of any coming-of-age birthday parties after it was granted an open licence.

North Berwick RFC (NBRFC) applied to East Lothian Council’s licensing board for the licence, which allows it to welcome non-members to events. But it was granted with several conditions, including that the club must tell police about any 18th or 21st birthday parties being held in the Recreation Park clubhouse at least two weeks in advance.

They were also ordered to use plastic glasses in an outdoor marquee at the club and banned from playing music on a planned new patio area.

A Police Scotland request for the club to install CCTV “of a standard approved by police” inside and outside the venue was also granted by the board.

Rudi Fruzynski, the council’s licensing standards officer, told the board that the club had changed into a community hub in recent years and had been moving towards changing its licence for some time.

He said: “It is not just a rugby club any longer – it has several different aspects to it as a community hub.

“I do not see a problem in relation to the licence.”

Iain Dove, NBRFC president, told the Courier: “We are pleased with the news that the licensing board have approved our application for a full licence, along with an identified area to the front of the club that can be used for drinks in good weather.

“This will be a fenced area, secure for children, and we hope it will prove to be popular with families. We hope to continue to grow the use of our facilities by the North Berwick community.”

At the meeting, Mr Fruzynski criticised the club for not sending anyone to attend the hearing, at Haddington Town House last Thursday.

Highlighting that they were not the only applicants to fail to attend the hearing that day, he said: “It is disappointing so many applicants have not turned up to answer questions of the board because they are all advised that someone should be available to attend.”

Mr Dove apologised to the licensing board, via the Courier, and added: “This is the first time that we have changed our licence and we simply didn’t know that it was possible to attend.”

Councillor Jane Henderson, a North Berwick Coastal ward member who sits on the licensing board, pointed out that the club’s failure to represent itself could prove financially costly as they were not able to challenge conditions attached to the licence. The board granted the licence with a condition that CCTV must be in place within three months.