A BID by the Starbucks coffee chain to open 24 hours in Edinburgh is being blocked by police amid fears of disorderly late-night customers.
The shop on the Royal Mile, near Hunter Square, wants to stay open to serve hot drinks, sandwiches and pastries for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival in August.
However, the application has been opposed by Lothian and Borders Police, who cla
im it will lead to "incidents of disorder and disturbance", although no residents or community groups have objected.
City councillors will meet this week to discuss the application, which falls outside the normal trading hours allowed in the area. During the festival, food can be served until 2am on weekday nights or until 3am at weekends.
An inspector from the police licensing section, writing on behalf of the Chief Constable, said: "I have no doubt that should this application be granted, local residents may be subjected to incidents of disorder and disturbance throughout the night, and additional pressure would be placed upon police resources."
Starbucks has asked the council for permission to open 24 hours a day from August 1 until August 31. Only the lower level of the store would be open between the hours of 1am and 6am, serving take-away snacks.
The only other outlet for late-night food on this section of the High Street is the Clamshell chip shop.
Premises on nearby South Bridge can open much later, but this street falls within a different licensing section and has less night-time restrictions.
Bill Cowan, a spokesman for the Old Town Association, said: "Normally, we don't object to late licences during August, because it is the one month of the year when Edinburgh can let its hair down.
"But the police have been very good in the area recently, so if they are objecting, I will ask local people what they think."
Last year, extra police officers were deployed on regular foot patrols as part of a "zero tolerance" approach towards street drinkers in Hunter Square.
A spokesman for Starbucks said the firm would not comment before the meeting.
The full article contains 356 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
