Do you think 24hr opening for pubs/clubs will make the City Centre a safer place or will it make it more dangerous to socialise there ?

Think it'l make it safer - without the mad 11.30/2.30 rush for cabs/kebas etc

I lived in Oz for a while and on a fri night - you'd get in from work, have a shower, some tea, relax a bit them meet up with friends about 10ish and have a few beers - none of this rushing home & straight out again and necking loads of beers before 11pm. You also drifted off when you' had enough rather than everyone piling out at the same time.

For most bars its not going to be worth opening past 2 or 3 and most local pubs *if* they can get an extended licences - are just going to shut when they've had enough - which to be honest is pretty much what happens now in most places.

I'd be suprised if many/any bar actaully opens 24 hrs - there may be one or two to cater for clubbers/ people who've just stopped working in clubs&bars/alkies - but that'll be it!

Im trying to understand how it will be safer..

Don't the police have enough trouble in pubs between 11am & 11pm with people that can't handle their beer ?(not inclusive of the drunken idiots that roam the street at 3am in the morning)

The government spoke of softening the blows on happy hours and alcohol deals etc but want 24 hour pubs ?

DeeJ :huh:

I think it will stop the large crowds and amount of people on the street normally found around 2-3am club closing times.

I can't see how it's going to be a bad thing really as there are a few pubs that open before 12 in the morning.

Having the clubs open for an extra few hours isn't going to change anything I doubt.

I think having 24hrs Clubs could be a good idea...

Some people go out knowing they only have a certain amount of drinking time... So they knock the drink back pretty quickly... getting hammered within an hour or 2...

Should this drinking time be spread over a longer period of time i think it would cut down alot of drunken brawls...

This subject was brought up in the South a few months back... I really think it should be something very much considered... :)

Im not saying its not a good idea all I am saying is I don't see how it will curb the violence. There will still be more idiots binge drinking, thinking they can take on the world cos they've had a drinkie or 2..

Me thinks a pilot scheme may be useful :)

I think it will cut down on violence. Because people won't be forced out onto the streets in large groups as much. This often contributes to the scraps in town as I've seen/been there for myself.

I for one quite like the idea of being able to go out at 2am to a bar and start drinking then lol.

For the people that work nights and have different sleeping patterns to the majority this could be the start of a great thing.

Originally posted by Deejay
Im not saying its not a good idea all I am saying is I don't see how it will curb the violence. There will still be more idiots binge drinking, thinking they can take on the world cos they've had a drinkie or 2..

Me thinks a pilot scheme may be useful :)
in theory there would be alot less binge drinking because people dont have to drink as much as they can in a short period of time, they can slow down a little (whether or not they do is a different matter).

also, people arent kicked out onto the street all at the same time, most violence occures after pub closing times.

a friend of mine was over from belfast at the weekend, club licensing times were always until 1am but nobody really enforced it that much so they would open until 3ish. somebody high up in the police realised that they could save money on police overtime by enforcing the licensing hours. apparently violence has increased and there arent enough taxis to go round either, this brings the added danger of girls hanging around on the street by themselves waiting... ring any bells?

I lived in France for a bit and the whole drinking culture made us look a bit stupid. Go out about 10 or 11. If you want you can go to a bar open til 11, 1, 3 and in some cases - 5. Normally, the people ending a shift and hardcore drinkers would be the only ones left in.

I hate going out before 10. Always rushing and shoving food down my gob 2 mins b4. Needs to change. Just so I don't get a stomach problem.

If you could cut down the amount of people all trying to cram into places at the same time then you'd cut down on violence. If you cut down on violence you wouldn't need so many old bill on overtime. Last year went to Germany and all families were out in the town centre on a sat night. Gave it a nice atmosphere. It was freezing so it doesn't just have to be in hot countries.

All that drinking violence is boring and they need to look at reasons why we do it but other European nations don't so much. Turning city centres into states of siege with loads more Police won't work. Needs a cultural change.

I don't think the City Centre is too bad for this. Maybe because loads of people go to other areas drinkin'. Eg Hillsborough, Eccy Road, Chapeltown etc... when I went out in Leeds a couple of sats back it was like a warzone.

Originally posted by Scuba
in theory there would be alot less binge drinking because people dont have to drink as much as they can in a short period of time, they can slow down a little (whether or not they do is a different matter).

also, people arent kicked out onto the street all at the same time, most violence occures after pub closing times.

a friend of mine was over from belfast at the weekend, club licensing times were always until 1am but nobody really enforced it that much so they would open until 3ish. somebody high up in the police realised that they could save money on police overtime by enforcing the licensing hours. apparently violence has increased and there arent enough taxis to go round either, this brings the added danger of girls hanging around on the street by themselves waiting... ring any bells?

Fair point, I see where your coming from.. Maybe it would be a good idea but I still think it should be tried not implemented straight away :)

DeeJ :thumbsup:

There is a lot of evidence to suggest it will work - Australia is a case in point.

I lived there for a year and agree with Jake - never had ANY trouble there. And I come from Essex so I was used to quite a bit.

The drinking laws in the rest of europe DO make the UK stand out - we are the only country with 11pm closing, and we have the worst violence problem. That seems to be a pretty direct sort of evidence.

Ultimately, one can only drink so much before passing out or ending up in hospital. Therefore an extension of the drinking hours shouldn't add to the problem...

The other twist to this is that the British have ALWAYS got lairy after a few beers... I recently read a book about the Magna Carter and the Normans were complaining about the yobbishness and drunkness of the British 900 years ago!!