Residents of Santos in Lisbon have created an association to begin a petition to call for bars and clubs in the area to close at 23:00, otherwise “it will be impossible to continue living in the neighbourhood”

The recently created Associação de Moradores de Santos, in Lisbon, wants bars and clubs to close at 23:00 due to the noise and insecurity that “invaded” this area of ​​the capital.

In statements to Lusa agency, the vice president of the Santos Residents Association, Teresa Fraga, said that people are desperate regarding the noise from Monday to Sunday, with insecurity, vandalised cars, drunk people and gatherings until the early hours of the morning.

“We knew that there were nightclubs on 24 Julio and that this is an area with bars, but with the post-covid-19 pandemic, the situation has worsened. I've lived here for 14 years and never before has there been a situation when we can't sleep. But now we have this every day until early morning,” she said.

According to Teresa Fraga, due to the situation, the residents are not able to lead a normal life.

“We can't do day-to-day life. People can't sleep, have a car on the street or get to their door, then there is the unbearable smell of urine and vomit. There are no rules. Noise measurements should also be taken and are not being,” she said.

Therefore, the residents of Santos decided to create the association and put forward a petition so that the bars and clubs in the area close at 23:00, otherwise “it will be impossible to continue living in the neighbourhood”.

“The petition will then be delivered to the Lisbon City Council because they are the only ones who can limit closures of bars and restaurants in Largo de Santos. This is a residential area,” said Teresa Fraga.

Asked by Lusa about the situation in Santos, the president of the Estrela Parish Council, Luís Newton (PSD), confirmed that, among others, the problem is mainly due to the opening hours of some establishments.

“It does not seem appropriate to me that establishments that function as restaurants all of a sudden, as a result of some permissiveness of classifying the type of establishments that our law currently provides, can turn into bars that work well into the night well beyond normal opening hours for a restaurant," he said.

The president of the Estrela Parish Council also highlighted the need to clearly define zones with different timetables in the city itself.