Southend nightclubs were today (Wednesday) hoping for consent to serve alcohol for an extra two hours on a Sunday night.

The Special Hours Certificate, which allows certain venues to serve drink beyond the normal licensing hours of 11pm on weekdays and Saturdays, has now been extended to cover Sundays.

Under the new alcohol rules, nightclubs can apply to the Licensing Justices to serve booze beyond the normal Sunday deadline of 10.30pm. It also signals a drinks extension until 2am on bank holiday weekends.

The move follows the scrapping of the Sunday Observance Act 1718 which prevented clubs from charging people for entry on Sundays.

However, before a club can make use of the extended drinking hours, it must receive council permission to operate as an entertainment venue on Sundays.

Southend Council's licensing committee will meet tonight (Wednesday) to decide which clubs will be granted consent. Among the clubs applying are Tots2000 and Chameleon, both in Lucy Road.

Some applications are expected to be put out to public consultation before a final decision is made.

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