THE future of the Edinburgh Press Club hangs in the balance, with a meeting at the start of the start of next year to decide whether to shut down.
The 200-plus membership meet on January 7 to decide whether the club, which was founded soon after the Second World War, is to close, with its premises – a three-storey Georgian townhouse near the capital’s Caledonian Hotel – to be put up for sale.
The club, which now boasts few, if any, members who actively work in the media, resisted attempts by some members six years ago to modernise into a club properly fit for the media.
Says past president, John Watt: “Membership is pretty healthy, but it’s a question of ‘use it or lose it’.”
Lack of punters in the bar has already resulted in the club keeping its doors shut on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
It is Watt’s hope that the proceeds from the sale of the club’s home would allow for the purchase of small, more manageable premises.
