Alcohol restrictions - 'Rules must be used with common sense'

It IS a ritual so deeply ingrained in our contemporary culture that the atrocious weather which has brought our schools, transport links and much of the daily business of the Capital grinding to a halt will not stop it taking place tonight.

Like any other Saturday, hordes of young men and women will doubtless drink themselves into a stupor, before stumbling home even more erratically than usual over the ice.

There will be no let up for the long-suffering residents of those parts of the city which have grown popular as drinking destinations, including many parts of the city centre and Leith, from the noise, mess and sporadic violence.

There are those who will say that anyone living in these "hot spots" will have known what the area was like before they decided to move in.

There is some truth in that, but it does not mean they should be exposed to unlimited amounts of antisocial behaviour, with no attempt to curb it.

Given the extent of the problems which clusters of pubs sadly tend to attract, it is sensible to have guidelines on how many licensed premises should be allowed to operate in any one area.

The city authorities are right to look at extending the current restrictions from the Old Town across the city centre and into Leith.

But this kind of regulation has come a cropper in the past when common sense has not been applied.

It was an embarrassment when the upmarket Hotel du Vin chain was refused an alcohol licence for its new 10 million venue in the Old Town three years ago.

Rules that had been designed to curb "lager lout" behaviour were used to refuse a venue where alcohol is enjoyed responsibly, and one which has contributed hugely to the city economy ever since that ridiculous decision was overturned.

The rules which may now be applied across a large part of Edinburgh must be kept flexible and must be applied with common sense.

Otherwise it won't just be the Saturday drunks who keep on embarrassing themselves.