Drinking on the streets of villages on the Black Isle and Skye is to be banned as part of a drive to curb alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour in the Highlands.
Under new laws which will be introduced later this month, anyone caught drinking in a public place in communities including Avoch, Munlochy, Charleston and North Kessock will face a £50 fixed penalty fine.
The crackdown was announced after Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill granted Highland Council consent to introduce the bylaw – which will also apply at Broadford and Harrapool on Skye – from November 28.
The move brings the total of alcohol-free zones in the Highlands to 23, but last night it prompted calls for the new law to be extended to every village in Scotland.
Black Isle councillor Billy Barclay said: “It’s long overdue. Laws on drinking in pub-lic need to be tightened up. There should be a bylaw like this in every Scottish village”
Colleague Isobel McCallum hopes the law will be used to stop young people gathering in a playpark at Munlochy.
She said: “The groups can be pretty noisy and make residents anxious.”
Craig Fraser, also a Black Isle councillor, added: “There has been a drinking culture in these areas which needs addressing. I think this will go some way to doing that.
“Drinking in public has an impact on local residents.”
Skye and Raasay councillor Drew Millar said earlier alcohol bans at Kyleakin, Kyle of Lochalsh and Portree had been successful.
He added: “There was a fear that it would drive people out into the housing areas, but I don’t think that has really happened.”
Northern Constabulary’s east division commander Superintendent John Darcy also welcomed the bylaw as “another tool in the box” to tackle antisocial behaviour.
Councillor Jaci Douglas, who chairs the Highland Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: “Young people shouldn’t be demonised because in these cases local people have made the decision that a ban on everyone drinking in public areas will make their communities safer.”
Announcing the move, Mr MacAskill said: “Public drinking is often a nuisance and can greatly hamper the quality of life for residents in a particular area.
“Councils that have such bylaws have paid testimony to their effectiveness in reducing the nuisance and disorder commonly associated with public drinking. I will continue to support other councils that come forward with similar proposals.”
Thirty Scottish councils have introduced bylaws prohibiting drinking in 480 designated areas.
They already exist at Fort William, Kinlochleven, Nairn, Grantown, Invergordon, Tain, Dingwall, Strathpeffer, Maryburgh, Conon Bridge, Alness, Muir of Ord, Fortrose, Rosemarkie, Kyleakin, Kyle of Lochalsh and Portree.
Discussions are under way about introducing another wave of bylaws in other Highland areas, including Badenoch and Strathspey.
Typically, the bylaws do not apply between 6pm on December 31 and 6am on January 1, and in some cases on January 2.