Late openings over festive

SHETLAND’S area licensing board has unanimously approved a general extension of licences until 2am for pubs and 3am for nightclubs over the festive period.

The decision was taken at a licensing board meeting on Tuesday morning and allows premises to be open until 2am from Saturday 23 December until Sunday 7 January inclusive. Nightclubs that have a 3am licence on weekends will be permitted to stay open until 3am every day.

A report to the licensing board set out how no extension was granted for three years between 2010 and 2013, but late licences have been approved in every year since.

There were no objections to later opening from the local police force, whose representative said it had not seen “any big spike” in crime as a result, or the council’s environmental health department.

Board member Malcolm Bell said he couldn’t recall the reason why an extension had not been granted for the first three years of this decade, but in any case he felt granting one was “clearly sensible” and had not caused any “adverse effects” in recent years.

“It’s clear, consistent, and avoids individual premises trying to get one over on rivals by pushing the boundaries,” he said.