Edinburgh's staggered licensing hours under attack

The much-vaunted staggered licensing hours in Edinburgh's city centre have come under attack from residents and police in the popular Grassmarket and Cowgate areas.

Calls for bars and pubs to close as early as 11pm have been voiced by residents who want a clampdown to curb the disruption caused by drinkers in the area.

The news will concern campaigners in England and Wales who have been urging ministers to relax licensing laws, pointing to Scotland as an example of how successful staggered opening can be.

Edinburgh City Council has launched a review of the number of licensed premises in the busy drinking area.

Bob Cairns, a member of the licensing board and the city's planning convenor, claimed the authority had received a string of complaints about noise and disturbance.

But Dougie Kerr, convenor of the city's licensing board, said. "We have to consider the knock-on effects of reducing the licensing hours in the area because when this has been done in the past, the police have said there is then an issue with the crowds."

Six years ago, Edinburgh City Council introduced a zoning policy where pubs in different areas traded at different times. Unpopular with the trade and the police, it saw groups of drinkers migrating from area to area.

Simon Sparksman, assistant manager at Bannerman's on Cowgate, said: "Most of the pubs round here trade until 1am, but about 30 per cent of them trade until 3am. Bar Union has just had its hours extended until 3am in September, so there can't be that much problem with noise in the area. Certainly we've never had any complaints."