Changes will come into effect this month
Faro municipal council has approved new noise regulations and opening hours for commercial establishments.
According to the new rules which have been published in the state newspaper Diário da República and are expected to come into effect this month, restaurants, cafés and pastry shops will be able to operate daily until 2am; bars and concert halls until 3am (from Sunday to Wednesday) or 4am (from Thursday to Saturday and on the eve of public holidays); and discos can stay open until 3am (from Sunday to Wednesday) or 5am (from Thursday to Saturday and on the eve of public holidays).
These changes are being made due to the “need to adapt opening hours to the evolution of the municipality’s social reality” and to address cases of excessive noise, the local council says in a statement.
“The municipality felt it was important to approve a revision to the regulations that would limit the opening hours of these spaces to avoid exacerbating a number of situations that had already been identified and to help make commercial use compatible with the other urban uses that exist in the Municipal Master Plan, namely residential use,” the council said.
In other words, the municipal authority wants to make sure that residents are not kept up all night by excessive noise from nearby establishments.
The council added that the previous regulations had been in force since 2017, in the case of opening hours, and since 2012, in the case of noise levels.
Pharmacies, hospitals, medical centres and veterinary hospitals or clinics, tourist developments or local accommodation, residential facilities for the elderly or petrol stations will be able to operate “permanently” (meaning without any restrictions on opening hours) every day of the week, the local council clarified.
Meanwhile, businesses located in residential buildings will be limited to opening hours between 8am and midnight. However, they may “exceptionally adopt the opening hours set for other establishments if they obtain the prior consent of the building’s owner or a declaration of non-opposition from the condominium,” it adds.
