Consumers looking to buy homes in Edinburgh should be aware of planned cuts on opening hours for pubs in the city, in moves aimed at combating anti-social behaviour.
Authorities in the city plan to cut weekday opening times by an hour to midnight and will also require pubs to provide seating for half of all drinkers. Such rules could be in place within months, reports the Edinburgh Evening News.
The policy has been drawn up by the city council and states that pubs and clubs with little or no provision for seating, so called "vertical drinking establishments", have a significant bearing on the possibility of disorder and crime.
Marjorie Thomas, Edinburgh’s licensing convener said there were no plans to impose cuts on Friday and Saturday opening times.
Chairman of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association commented: "The stuff about vertical drinking sounds ridiculous and it is ridiculous. The theory is if people are standing in pubs they are more likely to cause trouble. We don’t believe that."
It was reported last month in the Edinburgh Evening News that calls were made to ease regulations and allow more bars and pubs to build external smoking shelters.