Police say no to late night Starbucks service

A BID by coffee giant Starbucks to create the city's first 24-hour cafe looks set to be knocked back after police chiefs raised fears it would attract antisocial behaviour.

The shop on the Royal Mile, near Hunter Square, wants to stay open 24 hours throughout August to serve hot drinks, sandwiches and pastries to Festival revellers.

Starbucks failed in a similar bid to have its hours extended last year. The coffee giant has told city officials it would be willing to make its service takeaway only if that is what the city's licensing committee decided.

The extension has been opposed by Lothian and Borders Police, who claim it could lead to "incidents of disorder and disturbance" and goes against a council policy of restricting opening hours of food and drink outlets in the early hours of the morning.

Starbucks, however, today claimed its 24-hour operation would help disperse revellers when the pubs and clubs close.

Inspector Gordon Hunter of Lothian and Borders Police, said he could not support the application.

He explained: "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."

Inspector Hunter added that if councillors do want to extend Starbucks' hours then they should restrict it to the agreed timescales for the "late hours catering" city centre zone during the Festival, which is up to 2am Sunday to Thursday, and 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.

In a letter to council licensing officials, Harry Wilson, manager of Starbucks' High Street store, argued: "While I appreciate the concerns of the police, our aim is to help provide a better service to the large numbers of visitors to our city at this time.

"Our offer will not exacerbate the effects of excessive drinking and noise, which are liable to disturb local residents in any case.

"We would respectfully suggest that our coffee and other non-alcoholic beverages might actually help support the natural dispersal of people from the wider area."

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 zone.

Councillor David Beckett, who represents the city centre, said:

"The people who live in this area already have a lot of noise to contend with and there has to be a balance between having an accessible and vibrant city with residents needs, I am not sure if there really is a case for 24-hour opening but certainly an extension could be considered for the festival period."