Cafes should open later as 'alternative to pubs', says report

A leading trade figure has hit out at plans to encourage cafes and shops to open later in Edinburgh, as an "alternative to pubs".

An Edinburgh City Council-commissioned report published today recommends cafes and shops in the city centre should be able to extend their opening hours to dispel a binge-drinking culture and adopt a café culture.

The report, compiled by research firm SQW, said the clear distinction between day time and night time economy is "misleading", and recommended the policy should be changed to make a wider range of leisure activities available in the evenings.

But Patrick Browne, head of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association, said: "The council needs to get their act together and consistently quantify the value of the night time economy as a whole."

Browne disagreed with the report's claims that retail and coffee shops "are alternatives to pubs", and said that many tourists are drawn to the city centre to visit pubs and restaurants.

"It's all well and good to talk about a café culture, but the licensing board needs to be realistic," he said.

"It's good to give operations more flexibility, but in recent years, opening hours of pubs in the city centre have been cut back, from say 16 to 14 hours."

But Marjorie Thomas, convenor of the city of Edinburgh's licensing board, said that the council had been extending the licensing hours in short term for many pubs over the Fringe Festival to as late as three o'clock in the morning.