Licensees drink to even more late opening during festivals

Published on Tuesday 30 March 2010 10:04

THE number of days that pubs and clubs in the Capital can open late during the summer festivals is to be extended.

The city's licensing board has agreed that the annual allowance for a two-hour extension to opening hours during the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe will stretch over four-and-a-half weeks this year.

City leaders say that the move has come about as a result of the Fringe now unofficially starting earlier in the month, with popular preview days usually taking place in the run-up to the official start.

But the move has sparked fears about the cost of the lucrative "night-time economy" to city centre residents.

Licensing leader Marjorie Thomas said: "I have spoken to (Fringe chief executive] Kath Mainland about this issue and the way we have done this in the past has caused problems for shows that started a few days earlier.

"I am prepared to be flexible to accommodate the Fringe, which is a big earner for Edinburgh."

Last summer, licensed premises were allowed to open for an extra two hours for four weeks during the Festival. Previously the extension lasted only three weeks.

This year the Fringe will run from 6-30 August, with the International Festival continuing until 5 September. The new ruling will mean late opening is now likely to be allowed from the morning of 3 August – an extra three days.

Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said: "This decision will be welcomed by the trade and it gives operators more flexibility and helps to underpin Edinburgh's tourism offer.

"It is an important time of the year when we have literally hundreds of thousands of new people in the city and operators will always try to take advantage of that. So hopefully this will be seen as a plus for the city, tourists and operators alike."

However, the plans have angered residents in areas that suffer from antisocial behaviour linked to late-night drinking.

Nick Cumming, who lives off the Grassmarket and is a member of the Grassmarket forum, believes that late opening hours over the Festival period should not be allowed at all.

"Some of them are open until four or five in the morning and their argument does not hold any water because the shows finish at 12 or 1am," he said.

"People come out of bars along the Cowgate at three, four, 5am and cause mayhem. To say it benefits the city is a nonsense because the only ones to benefit are the bars.

"And the people who are staying out until 4am are not bringing wealth to the city; they're not wealthy tourists they are backpackers and students."