In May 1929, license was refused for a proposed club in Springwells.The Sheriff saw through the real plan behind the club, which incredibly was proposed for a space no larger than about 6 foot by 5! The report in the Motherwell Times on 31st May 1929 reported,
“Sheriff Mercer has refused the application of Springwells Social and Recreation Club, Blantyre, for certificate of registration under the Licensing Acts in respect of premises at Blantyre, the ground that the premises, if registered, would be used mainly as a drinking club.
Objection to the application was taken by the Chief Constable of Lanarkshire. In his interlocutor, Sheriff Mercer explained that an accountant, examined for the applicants, calculated on an estimated attendance of 400, the gross annual drawings for food at £430, from mineral waters at £93, and from tobacco £291.
He accepted the estimate of the objectors of gross drawings at £1139. “I consider.” says the Sheriff, “an estimated membership of greatly exaggerated, and it would, in my opinion, be highly undesirable to attempt to house a registered club membership of anything like that number in apartment 28 feet square.”
