The terraces can work up to the limit of the establishment's hours, restaurants and convenience stores up to 2 am and in mixed equipment the longer hours prevail. These are just some of the new features of the new Regulation on Opening Hours for Commercial Establishments and Provision of Services in Albufeira, in force since the 19th of July.
According to the document approved by the City Council, snack bars and similar that have no disturbance noise can work in extended regime up to 4 am, without the need to purchase sound limiters, simply submitting a declaration of honor at the same sense. Another novelty is the abolition of the monthly request for precarious hours.
The municipality of Albufeira explains, in a press release, that, despite the Municipality complying with the applicable legal regime with regulations approved since 2012, it was found that the previous Regulation «came, over time, to manifest itself as inadequate, particularly during the bathing season, in which the opening hours of commercial establishments, especially bars, dancing and discotheques, have been causing some controversy and discontent among the population».
Asserting itself “aware of the need to reconcile the various interests at stake (economic agents, residents and tourists), the municipality opted to approve a new regulation in which the noise levels produced by commercial establishments prevail as a differentiating factor in timetables”.
José Carlos Rolo, President of the City Council, stresses that the public discussion of this Regulation "was a good example of participatory democracy", with individual meetings with all interested parties, having been structured in partnership with professional associations in the sector, namely ACRAL, AHRESP, Algarve Discos Association, Avenida Sá Carneiro Entrepreneurs Association, competent entities and some suggestions from the population gathered during the public appraisal phase.
The mayor states that the Municipality's concern was to make the necessary changes «without neglecting the distinctly touristic nature of the Municipality and the legitimate expectations of all those who visit us, complying with the legal norms in force, in order to reconcile the various interests: by on the one hand, economic agents and their workers, on the other, residents and consumers in general».
José Sequeira, councilor with the responsibility for the Environment, reinforces the idea stating that «it is essential that Albufeira is a reference in tourism, but also in environmental terms, namely in terms of noise, ensuring the quality of life of its residents, entertainment necessary for visitors and economic success for entrepreneurs'.
The purpose of this Regulation - he says - "is to dissuade traders from engaging in noisy activities, but ensuring that, as long as they comply with the limiting measures, they can carry out their activity, which is a calling card for the main tourist hub of the region".
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