THE Glasgow nightclub where a schoolgirl took drugs shortly before her death will face no action, despite police calls for its licence to be reviewed.
City licensing chiefs said that despite the circumstances surrounding the death of Regane MacColl, 17, there were no management failings at The Arches on February 2, the night she collapsed after taking suspected contaminated ecstasy.
The licensing board acknowledged after four hours of discussion that the club had put in place further measures to mitigate against the misuse of drugs on its premises, saying it was of the view there were no grounds to review the venue's licence.
The Arches has said it will stick to its policy of restricting admission to its club nights to over-21s, with promises to ramp up security, searches and its drug policies.
During the meeting, Police Scotland argued the venue's licence should be reviewed as it had breached conditions on preventing crime and disorder and securing public safety.
It emerged that Regane had been identified as being unwell by stewards in an outside smoking area, before an ambulance was called at 4am. The teenager died in hospital shortly before 8am.
Two other people had been taken by ambulance from the club in separate incidents that night.
Inspector Duncan Evans levelled criticisms about The Arches including that not everyone entering the venue was searched and that the police were only informed of drugs seizures if the substances indicated "dealer quantities".
Archie McIvor, lawyer for The Arches, said: "Generally we agree with everything that has been said by the police.
"No club operator can cure society's problems and there is a huge problem with drugs out there. But operators can do their level best to ensure that people enjoy their night out in as safe an environment as possible. That's the approach The Arches has taken here."
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