A tough new policy stamping out smoking within vehicles on Aberdeenshire Council property has been branded “unenforceable”.
The local authority’s policy and resources committee yesterday backed plans to prohibit lighting up on any of its premises – including car parks for facilities such as swimming pools, care homes and offices.
However several members spoke out against the changes, and it was eventually agreed to change the wording within the policy to make it clear members of the public in pay and display car parks would not be affected.
Council sites where smoking is prohibited will include its buildings and attached car parks, marquees, stalls, other council grounds and within its vehicles.
The proposed policy extends to e-cigarettes.
Councillor Peter Argyle was among those with concerns about the wording of the policy, although backed the idea in general.
He said: “Clearly we have an absolute responsibility to encourage people not to smoke. If we are going to introduce a policy it needs to be something that people see as sensible.
“There is one gaping bit that needs to come out in relation to smoking in Aberdeenshire car parks.
“The way it reads is that anybody driving into one of our car parks is not allowed to smoke in our car parks. One – that is unenforceable. Two – nobody will take any notice of it.
“It undermines what is a good policy. It is unlikely to gain public sympathy.”
Staff, visitors, councillors, volunteers, contractors and service users will all be prohibited from smoking in their vehicles.
Banchory councillor Jill Webster said: “The way it is presented doesn’t make sense. I agree with Councillor Argyle – how on earth are we going to enforce smoking in Aberdeenshire car parks by members of the public?
“In Banchory young lads come and sit in their cars in public. Are we going to have people going around and saying you can’t do that?”
The committee agreed to clarify the wording on the policy to stipulate it only applies to those car parks “attached to council buildings”.
The council’s head of business services, Ritchie Johnson, said: “We want to try and apply some common sense into this, the intention here is right.”
Some sites for service users will be exempt from the changes including residential accommodation and designated rooms in a number of council-owned properties.
Council employees could be disciplined for breaching the policy.
