Party-pooper council officials have been barring 18th and 21st birthday celebrations from community halls across the north-east.
Aberdeenshire Council has had an “unofficial” ban on landmark birthday bashes at its facilities for at least a year, since a group of teens caused thousands of pounds worth of damage in Portsoy.
But now the local authority has been forced to rethink the stance by community leaders keen to see their venues in use.
Bookings for 18th and 21st birthday parties were not being accepted at the council-owned halls after celebrations got out of hand in Portsoy – leaving the authority with a bill for thousands.
But the issue came to the fore after a Stonehaven woman was told she could not book the town hall for an 18th birthday bash due to the unofficial ban.
Local councillor Wendy Agnew contacted council officers after being notified of the “ridiculous” issue.
Last night she called on the council to have faith in “responsible adults” to monitor behaviour at 18th and 21st parties.
Mrs Agnew said: “It was a knee-jerk reaction to something. Just because one party went wrong you can’t just have a blanket ban at all halls. We want our town hall used. We don’t want to put people away.
“I just thought it was a ridiculous thing to happen to anyone. People are not happy, they don’t understand it either. The hall is there to be used, it is a public hall, people pay for it.
“Just because something happened in Portsoy doesn’t mean it will happen in Stonehaven too.”
Portsoy councillor John Cox, who is also chairman of the Banff and Buchan area committee, added: “I know there was an incident in Portsoy, and I know there was a stop that was put to them.
“Community facilities are there to be used, they have got to generate income and they have got to be sustainable.
“Obviously they should be used appropriately. If things are going to be destroyed and damaged, the council has to take a firm view – if what happens costs us money because they are not being looked after with respect.”
Councillor Brian Topping, head of the Fraserburgh and District Community Safety Group, said banning the likes of 18th birthday parties wasn’t unheard of at hotels.
He added: “Having worked in the hotel trade all my life, and knowing people that work in the trade, I know there are a lot of hotels that are reluctant to take on not 21sts, but certainly 18ths, because of the impact it could have on their licences.
“A lot of their chums will not be 18. It is very difficult. All it takes is for one person to have one too many to drink.”
However, he said it was “unfortunate to categorise all young people” due to “one bad incident”.
Last night the council said the ban was never official and that it would now begin accepting bookings at its community facilities for 18th and 21st birthday celebrations.
A council spokeswoman said: “There is no official ban in place on the hosting of 18th or 21st birthday parties in our halls.
“Every booking request that we receive will be judged on its merits and we hope to ensure that all users of, and staff at our halls, have a safe and pleasant experience”.
