By Mark McLaughlin

CONTROVERSIAL PLANS to introduce alcohol tolerance zones for under-age drinkers in Scotland will not be rolled out in Tayside and Fife in the near future.

A pilot scheme announced by North Lanarkshire Council aims to create supervised alcohol shelters in public parks to cut down on loud and aggressive youths hanging around the streets.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Alcohol Focus Scotland said they will monitor the scheme for possible introduction in other areas.

A COSLA spokeswoman said other local authorities would learn from the experience and decide whether it was appropriate for them.

She added, “Local authorities are renowned for developing innovative and creative solutions to problems, such as alcohol abuse, and to addressing the wider issues of anti-social behaviour and community safety.”

Dundee City Council insisted that, although they have been made aware of the scheme, they “do not think it is necessary.” A similar response was received from local authorities in Angus, Perth and Kinross and Fife.

The news will come as a relief to alcohol awareness groups and police who say the move fails to tackle the core problem.

Tayside Council on Alcohol children’s services manager Kathryn Baker said introducing tolerance zones “flies in the face” of the Scottish Executive’s Plan for Action on Alcohol, which aims to combat binge drinking.

She added, “It’s nonsense to say that we are trying to tackle the Scottish culture of spending every Friday and Saturday night down the boozer and then turn a blind eye to our children drinking in the streets.

“You might as well go one step further and let the children drink in the pubs.

“There are clearly arguments for and against tolerance zones but I remain unconvinced they would be the answer to Tayside’s alcohol problems.

“In the contact that I have with young people they tell me that the reason they drink on the streets is because there is nothing better to do, so we should be spending our energy trying to find things for youngsters to do away from alcohol rather than providing a forum for them to embrace it.”

Ms Baker said she did have some sympathy for North Lanarkshire Council in trying to balance the safety of youngsters with the social and personal problems created by alcohol abuse.

“If Dundee City Council do decide to adopt the scheme and they allow children to gather in Baxter Park or Lochee Park, for example, and let them do what they want, it would be recipe for disaster so there has to be some kind of supervision by qualified and experienced youth workers,” she added.

Police forces in Tayside and Fife also condemned the move by North Lanarkshire and said it would not be welcome in their divisions.

Fife chief constable Peter Wilson said, “There has been a lot of work done by local authorities and county councils to create shelters to keep children away from alcohol so I would have a problem with providing somewhere that would seem to encourage it.

“Although there would be nothing illegal in such a shelter—the law is in the procurement rather than the drinking—I would find it difficult to conceive of such a place in Fife.

“Without seeing the details, I would not want to denounce it wholeheartedly as there has obviously been some thought put into it by the local authority, but I would have to say that I am sceptical.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed they were not aware of any plans to introduce or trial tolerance zones in Dundee.

She added, “It is not a concept that we would support. In Tayside we opt for promoting diversionary activities and actively targeting those who continue to supply alcohol to those under 18.”