Complaints from residents over noise from late-night bars, discoteques and other establishments have led to controversial regulations regarding sound control and closing hours being introduced in Faro.
Owners are obliged to install equipment to measure and lower excessive noise which can be monitored by the local authority from a distance.
The system is already in operation in Albufeira and is set to be introduced in Lagos this summer amid much controversy and protest from bars, restaurants and nightclubs which face the threat of being forced to close earlier.
The Mayor of Faro, Macário Correia, said that a balance had to be struck between those who wanted to enjoy themselves until the early morning hours and those who had to sleep and go to work in the morning.
He maintained that the sound control and monitoring equipment would enable the authorities to ensure that the owners were abiding by the new regulations.
The idea, however, has been met with criticism from Gabriel Ventura, of the Faro association of night entertainment businesses (Associação de Empresários de Animação Noturna de Faro), who said the association had not been notified of the authority’s intentions and that establishments already have equipment to measure and limit noise.
