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Aberdeen city centre pubs and bars can now stay open until 3am

You don’t have to go to the club anymore

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Aberdeen city council are now allowing pubs and bars in Aberdeen city centre to apply for a licence to stay open until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.

This decision came following residents’ demands for a better quality of nightlife in Aberdeen city centre.

Previously, bars had to provide “significant entertainment” to stay open past midnight, but the council has accepted proposals to change the rules – a first for a Scottish local authority.

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Pubs > clubs

Anywhere wishing to stay open until this time will still have to apply via the council, and applications will be thoroughly looked into, but the chances of them being granted are much higher.

Stephen McGowan, a partner of a law firm that represents bars and clubs, told The Evening Express that licences wouldn’t be be “handed out like confetti”.

The reception has not been entirely positive. TGC Leisure, which owns Club Tropicana, suggested that there would be a “serious shortage” of trained bouncers, which could lead to an increase public drunkenness and violence.

However, there are also high hopes that it will improve Aberdeen’s nightlife to match the higher standards of bigger Scottish cities.