I live in gateshead and never went to sem here and never grew up here. It makes sense in such a town to have those rules, which by the way only apply to the bochurim/sem girls and also teenagers (who should be in school anyway during those hours). It does not apply to married people, so I have never had a problem running out of ingredients during the wrong hours.
It seems to me that an awful lot of people who have not been to gateshead, or those who lack the age and maturity, are very quick to judge our community.
Also, I disagree with the comment that the families who live here only do so to support the mosdos. We are a growing community, and many of the families that live here now do not have any connection to the yeshivos or sems except for financially. In the years that I have lived here, many other businesses are opening and growing.