Lossiemouth Scouts has suspended meetings at its hall after deciding the misuse of its car park was putting young people at risk.
The Moray group has met in the building since it opened in 1985, and says it has always had enjoyed cooperation with neighbours.
It is understood that in recent years, however, there have been issues with people outside of the Scouts using the car park and driving in a “dangerous manner”.
In a post on Facebook, 1st Lossiemouth Scout Group said: “The leader team have assessed the current risk and deem it to be too great to continue operating without further mitigations in place.
“We can assure you that this decision has not come lightly, there have been many many hours spent discussing this matter but in the end the safety of the young people in our care must be our number one priority.”
Fingers pointed at Scottish Water van
The group went on to specifically name a Scottish Water van as “predominantly” causing a problem in the car park.
It said: “At present it is predominantly a Scottish Water van which is causing the additional risk through inconsiderate parking and driving in a manner which we consider to be dangerous.”
1st Lossiemouth Scout Group says it has contacted Scottish Water three times – and spoken directly to the driver of the van – but to no avail other than a response to say its inquiry has been passed on.
In response to the claims made by the group, a spokesman from Scottish Water said: “We are investigating the circumstances to establish the facts and understand what can be done to resolve the situation.
“We hope to establish a better dialogue with the Scout group to understand the concerns that have been raised – and very much regret that they haven’t been satisfied with our response following their efforts to contact us in recent weeks.”
Moving forward
Meetings at Scout Hall have now been suspended “until further notice” and the group said it is monitoring the situation so that normal business can resume as soon as possible.
Heldon and Laich councillor Neil Cameron said he hopes to liaise with the group to try and find a solution to what appears to be an issue with dangerous driving and parking in the car park.
The Scout group added it did not intend to create bad blood by taking action and suspending its meetings.
It said: “This is part of a greater issue and is by no means an isolated case but it does highlight some other long term issues which need to be resolved.
“We do not wish for any bad feeling between us and any of our neighbours and that is why we are working hard to find a solution which will work for all concerned.”
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