BBN awards revoked over £10 drinks deal

A Durham nightclub has been stripped of its Best Bar None awards after running an all-inclusive drinks deal.

Loft, owned by Vimac Leisure, is believed to be the first venue to be stripped of its Best Bar None titles. It won two awards this year — Overall Winner and Best Night Club — but has come under fire for its £10 all-inclusive promotion.

A statement from Durham City Council said the national Best Bar None office and partner organisations decided to withdraw the awards as Vimac's "actions were viewed as being fundamentally against the overall objectives of the scheme".

The Council said it was "due to the detrimental impact their recent drinks promotions advertising has had on the work and profile of Durham City Best Bar None.

"Whilst the organisers of the scheme want to see Durham City licensed premises survive the current economic climate, a fair balance between the needs of businesses and the wider needs of Durham City Centre must be considered."

Carol Feenan, manager of the Durham BBN scheme, said: "The promotions that Vimac Leisure is currently running at the Loft have endangered the unity gained amongst our licensees to an extent that they are bringing the reputation of Durham City Best Bar None into question.

"This is both an extremely unfortunate and extremely regrettable situation but it is a measure that we have had to make as the promotional material generated by Vimac was something that Best Bar None could not support."

Sgt Steve Norris said: "We were extremely disappointed to see our Overall Winners publicising such promotions.  We have made the decision not to exclude them from the scheme, as our organisations wish to continue to work with Vimac Leisure, but within the framework of the scheme."

The MA has left a message with Vimac Leisure about the deal but has not yet received a response.