Councillors approve Northmavine hop extension

The procession at the Northmavine Up-Helly-A' in 2023. Photo: Sophie Whitehead.

Revellers can enjoy an extra hour of drinking at the Northmavine Hop, after councillors approved extended licensing hours at the Hillswick Hall.

Councillors quickly approved the application at today’s (Monday) licensing board meeting at the Lerwick Town Hall, to extend the licensing hours to 2am from 1am.

Members of the board heard that, if approved, the “well run and organised” hall would have an additional hour to allow for party-goers to finish up the drinks they had purchased on the premises.

Alcohol would only be served until 1am but people would be allowed to consume their booze, while the hall is cleared up, with “safety” in mind.

West Side member Liz Peterson said she was happy to see this go ahead, to let people arrange for transport.

She highlighted that there would be very few taxis on the road at such a late hour, and people would be forced to “wait around,” if they were unable to get a taxi by 1am.

Lerwick North and Bressay councillor Stephen Leask said that in previous years the event had been run “quite successfully,” so he had little hesitation to back it.

The hop will take place on Saturday 22nd February, and there were no objections from police to prevent the extension from happening.