Nightclubs can only operate until 5:00 am, bars and concert halls until 4:00 am and opening times vary depending on the days of the week: this is what stipulates in the new noise regulations and opening hours for commercial and service establishments of services Faro, published in Diário da República on February 27th.
The changes come «after the statements presented at a hearing of interested parties and public assessment – namely by residents' associations, business associations, residents and traders –» and approval of the regulations in the Municipal Assembly.
The previous regulation on opening hours of establishments came into force in April 2017, having remained unchanged since then, while the current municipal noise regulation came into force in the course of 2012.
According to the Chamber of Faro, «the first of these regulations then introduced a set of changes, including the liberalization of opening hours for establishments selling to the public, providing services, restaurants or drinks, establishments with a dance space or where shows are held».
However, «considering the evolution of municipal social reality over recent years», the municipality of Faro emphasizes that «it was understood that it was important to approve a review of the regulations that would limit the opening hours of these spaces, in order to avoid worsening a number of nuisance situations, already identified, and help to make commercial use compatible with other existing urban uses. in the Municipal Master Plan, namely housing use».
In a note, the Chamber of Faro says that «a reflection of this situation is the discomfort felt by the population regarding the noise caused by the operation of establishments, due to loud music, audible from public roads, as well as from surrounding homes».
Furthermore, the municipality admits that «the increase in frequency of some establishments has led to a crowd of consumers outside them, a situation that causes excessive noise due to their movement and stay on public roads», compromising rest, contributing «to degrading the quality of life of residents” and increasing “the existence of insecure situations”.
In this sense, "for reasons of safety and protection of citizens' quality of life", the regulation now approved defines that food, beverage or mixed establishments (restaurants, cafes or pastry shops, among others) can operate every day between 6:00 am and 2:00 am.
Drinking and catering establishments, duly licensed (bars, concert halls, theatres, cinemas, concert venues, among others) can operate between 10:00 am and 3:00 am, from Sunday to Wednesday, and between 10:00 am and 4:00 am, on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and the day before holidays. Previously, this group could operate between 10am and 00am, every day of the week.
Licensed drinking and catering establishments such as dance clubs, nightclubs or similar may have opening hours between 10:00 am and 3:00 am, from Sunday to Wednesday, and between 10:00 am and 5:00 am on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eve. Previously, this group could operate between 10am and 00am every day of the week.
The outdoor terraces of duly licensed establishments such as restaurants, breweries, snack bars or similar, will now have to close, every day, at 2 am at the latest, and those in bathing areas, and during the bathing season, may operate until at 00:3 am.
The new regulation also stipulates that establishments located in residential buildings can only operate between 8:00 am and midnight, and may, "exceptionally, adopt the hours set for other establishments if they obtain the prior consent of the owner of the building, or the declaration of non-opposition from the condominium, in the case of a building on horizontal property».
On the other hand, «the municipal noise regulation aims to adopt procedures that allow for better action in the prevention, inspection and sanctioning of practices that do not comply with the legal framework, always with a view to continuous improvement in the performance of city services in compliance with the principle of legality and promoting the guarantee of the rights and expectations of citizens", concludes the Chamber of Faro.
On the page Ribeirinho Neighborhood Association Faro Complaints related to noise and feelings of insecurity are common.
In the last one, published on February 25th, robberies, drug trafficking and violence are reported.
«The authorities, absent and invisible, only intervene when called and only arrive late, expressing total indifference to this phenomenon», the residents further accuse.
A Ribeirinho Neighborhood Association Faro – with whom Sul Informação already mentioned in the scope of the report “When nightlife and residents cohabit there is “a difficult equation to solve”” – was created in 2022 to «promote the quality of life of those who live and work» in this area of the city of Faro.
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