“We cannot tolerate excessive noise” linked to nightlife, Lisbon’s Mayor Carlos Moedas has stated. The exceptional measure, a ban (with limits depending on day and time) on the public consumption of alcohol, is intended to respond to a large number of complaints from residents.
The new regulation has been sitting in a drawer for two years, with the city’s council being reluctant to apply it due to pressure from local businesses.
From 11.00pm between Sunday and Thursday, and after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays (and on the eve of public holidays), anyone wishing to drink an alcoholic beverage in the open air will only be allowed to do so at a defined private or business area with an outdoor seating area, rather than on the street. This will apply if Lisbon City Council approves the proposal to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks for consumption off the premises at its next executive meeting, scheduled for the 14th January.
The measure follows a growing number of repeated complaints in recent years from residents, civic associations, and parish councils about excessive noise in the city. According to Mayor Moedas, the decision aims to “guarantee the right of Lisbon residents to rest throughout the city, and particularly in residential areas where there is a higher concentration of nightlife activities,” he said in a statement sent to the Público newspaper.
“We cannot tolerate a situation in which excessive noise, largely driven by the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public spaces and the gathering of people outside bars and restaurants, undermines the health, rest and quality of life of those who live in Lisbon,” the mayor added.
In February 2024, Lisbon City Council’s executive approved amendments to the current regulations on the opening hours of retail and service establishments in the municipality of Lisbon, which were subsequently put out to public consultation.
However, no decisions have been taken on the matter since then. After nearly two years of inaction, the city council is proposing that the ban on off-premises sales be implemented “as quickly as possible”, remaining in force “until the entry into force of the amendments to the respective regulation, which will definitively govern this matter”, according to the proposal.
The council also stated that it is “working on the drafting of a Municipal Noise Regulation, which does not currently exist”, and which will be necessary to complement the rules on opening hours.
In response to the decision to restrict the hours during which alcohol can be sold for consumption outside, the association by the name of ‘Vizinhos em Lisboa’ (Neighbours in Lisbon, one of several groups that have spoken out against noise, insecurity and unsanitary conditions linked to alcohol consumption) acknowledged that “the initiative of Lisbon City Council is positive and deserves recognition”. However, it astutely warned that the measure could prove ineffective in the absence of proper enforcement.
“Without on-the-ground monitoring, a regular police presence, and decisive action by the Municipal Police and the PSP, (Public Security Police) the ban will be a dead letter. Experience shows that rules without enforcement violate the principle of good administration and fuel public distrust,” the association stressed in a newsletter sent out on 8th January. The decision “should be seen only as a first step”, it concludes.
Source: Público
