As far as I can see from the licence, there is no NEED for a membership. It is a Premises Licence, the same as a pub, as opposed to a Club Premises Certificate which bona fide members' clubs can get to reflect that everyone present will be a member or guest of a member. The difference, basically, is that a members' club is private property and entry is not generally permitted for the general public. The alcohol is not sold by retail as it is owned by all the members and the whole thing is run by an elected committee. There are also other advantages, such as the availability of bigger capacity gaming machines. Clearly, it is not that type of venue. It is therefore to be run commercially on terms set down by the management who may require a membership scheme or open it up to everyone. As you know, a pub can decide to ban dogs and kids or even close early or not open at all, depends on what sort of business they want to have. There need not be hard and fast rules which apply all the time, but circumstances (and entry requirements) can be changed depending on the event.
