Former police superintendent and Wangaratta councillor Dough McPhie raised concerns about extended trading hours in the city before the council elections.

Member for Murray Valley Ken Jasper jumped on board this week, demanding a critical review of licensing hours following recent vandalism attacks on the city.

Wangaratta’s pubs and clubs have staggered closing times, with The Albion Hotel closing the latest at 5am.

Dean Woods, the owner of the Jab Bar which trades until 3am, believes a 1am lockout could be the answer.

“It has been proven a success in other areas where it has been addressed, (but) it’s not just a matter of bringing the hours back, you need to put in other measures as well,” he said.

Wangaratta councillor Lauren O’Neill said the council had been discussing 5am trading and was seeking more information from traders, the community, the taxis, and the police.

But Council Club Hotel owner Simon McKay, who trades until 4am, said cutting back trading hours would not solve any problems.

“There are two late-night venues that trade until 4am and 5am and if we brought back the time to 3am then the problem will become worse as there will be more people on the street at the one time,” he said.

“The taxi service certainly wouldn’t keep up with it and I don’t think the police could keep up with it.”