The UEA is claiming that keeping their shop open later into the night will keep students safer.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) has applied to extend the hours they are allowed to sell alcohol to 3am every day so that students do not have to leave campus to go to a nearby shop.

The shop in University Plain at the UEA is currently open on weekdays from 7.30am to 11pm and until 9pm on weekends. The hatch is then open from the close of the store until midnight every day.

Should the application to Norwich City Council be approved, the hatch will be open from close until 3am.

A UEA spokesman said: “LCR club nights tend to finish earlier than others and we know that students often like to continue enjoying their night after the club closes by buying alcohol.

"It’s much safer for them to do that without having to leave campus and extending the licensing hours from midnight to 3am gives them the option to do that.

"We believe that campus is a safer environment for our students than the city and reduces engagement with the public and therefore the potential for incident. On top of this, remaining on campus removes the need to travel off-campus and reduces the related risks."

Norwich Evening News: The night hatch for The Shop at the UEAThe night hatch for The Shop at the UEA (Image: Google)

The LCR, the club in the UEA student union, hosts two club nights a week that are especially popular with sports groups.

The average club night has around 1,800 attendants and 3,500 students live on campus, making the shop vital.

The plan began to open later when the shop came under the control of the university.

The UEA spokesman added: “Ownership of the UEA shop changed hands from UEA Student Union to the university's Commercial Services in July of this year.

"The university runs the majority of catering outlets on campus and this was a change of business arrangement with Student Union that enabled us to provide a more consistent catering service for students, staff and visitors to campus.

"We wanted to take time to assess how the midnight cut-off time for alcohol licensing would work."

There have currently been no complaints to Norwich City Council about this planning application.