More than 50 North Ayrshire pubs apply to open late for World Cup
PA MediaMore than 50 pubs from across North Ayrshire have applied for extended hours during the forthcoming men's Fifa World Cup.
In February the region's licensing board decided not to introduce a general extension for the tournament, which would allow pubs and bars to remain open for late-night matches.
Instead decisions are being made on a case-by-case basis.
Officers said 57 premises have applied, covering 336 dates. That number is mostly made up of all the pubs applying for the same dates.
The tournament kicks off in June, with Scotland opening against Haiti in the early hours of 15 June before facing Morocco and Brazil.
It is Scotland's first appearance in the finals for 28 years.
Chris Pollok, a licensing manager with the board, said 22 applications had been processed already.
He added: "At that rate I would hope within three to four weeks we will be in a position to give information to all the premises who applied.
"They are all subject to a consultation with the police and the licensing standards officer. All applications have been vetted and they have been confirmed to be within that policy so we don't envisage any issues at this stage."
Licensing chair Eleanor Collier said applications had come from Irvine up to the north coast.
She said: "If the public want to see a match in their area there should be a pub in their locality.
"The conditions are similar to what apply to nightclubs as there will not be as many people about at that time of night."
