NEARLY 37,000 people have now backed a petition calling for The Arches club licence to be reinstated, describing it as "one of Scotland's biggest and most successful cultural venues".

The petition states The Arches makes more effort than any club in the city to keep people safe with measures including dedicated first aid rooms and well trained stewarding staff. It adds it is a world-leading arts venue and urges Glasgow City Council to reinstate the club licence "without delay".

Among the comments left by supporters include: "Drug issues are never going to be tackled by simply closing a venue, it's simply just going to move the problem to smaller less suited places with less ability to tackle the problem."

Another wrote: "The Arches is an important institution in this city. The fact that their own reports of drug abuse to the police has lead to the withdrawal of their licence is a shambles.

"What about more education on drugs rather than shutting down cultural venues? Very disappointing and extremely reactionary."

The board of The Arches will meet early next week to discuss the situation and may still appeal the move.

However police have defended their decision, Chief Inspector Mark Sutherland, Area Commander at Glasgow City Centre said they had acted to "protect and ensure public safety" by submitting the complaint to the Licensing Board.

He said: "Whilst the Licensing Board has delivered its decision, the matter may be subject to an appeal and I am therefore constrained by the level of information that I can provide and that supported our review submission to the board.

"In general terms I would emphasise that all licensed premises have a duty to report any incidents of criminality that occur on their premises to the police and this is exactly what I expect and what I believe we receive from our pubs and clubs across the city.

"It is my firm view that the frequency and volume of incidents that were occurring at the Arches nightclub would have resulted in fatal consequences had we not acted."

He added: "As the Area Commander for Glasgow City Centre, I want to see a vibrant city that welcomes and supports artistic talent but this can absolutely not be at a cost to public safety, particularly young people who may be risking their lives week after week."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council's licensing board said: "After hearing submissions from both Police Scotland and the Arches, the board decided to vary the licence by moving the closing hour for the premises from 3am to 12 midnight, Monday to Sunday.

"The decision was made in terms of the licensing objectives of preventing crime and disorder, securing public safety and protecting and improving public health."