Anyone who causes trouble on a night out in Stirling over the festive season could find themselves banned from pubs in the city for a year.
The city’s landlords have launched a campaign to clamp down on louts.
Members of Pubwatch – which is chaired by Dave Thompson, general manager at the Fubar, and Neil Campbell, manager at the Kilted Kangaroo – share information on issues they’ve encountered and agreed to impose banning orders on a handful of troublemakers.
The organisation’s motto, ‘Banned from one – Banned from all’, means the minority of people who cause trouble in any one of Stirling’s licensed premises face being barred from all Pubwatch pubs for a year.
The aim is to deter and prevent troublemakers from creating an unpleasant environment for customers and staff.
Publicans also continue to share information and photographs with each other and with the police via a fully digitised and secure communications system funded by Go Forth.
The BID secured 15 radios for pub owners and volunteers from Safebase and Stirling Street Pastors last year.
Pubwatch co-chair Neil Campbell said: “We are all working together to make the city a safe place for everyone to come in and enjoy the festive season.
“It’s our responsibility as publicans to make sure we do everything we can to ensure people have a good time and feel safe and secure in Stirling.
“We are proactive in sharing relevant information between premises and we act quickly to bar the small minority of troublemakers from city centre premises.”
‘Safe haven’ initiative Safebase will be in place for anyone who needs help or support this Friday, December 23 and on Hogmanay – Saturday, December 31.
And Stirling Street Pastors will be patrolling city centre streets to offer assistance and look out for anyone who finds themselves in a vulnerable situation.
Meanwhile, Police Scotland are running Operation Steadfast, a dedicated foot patrol operation focusing on Stirling city centre over the festive period and up until January 8.
PC Neil Hunter and PC Stuart Gray, from Stirling Community Policing Team, will also have a mobile police office vehicle on the Port Street pedestrianised area on December 21 and 22.
They plan to give out advice on personal safety and crime prevention.
Go Forth Stirling project director Danielle McRorie-Smith said: “Stirling is a fantastic place to come for an evening out during the festive season and our partnership is all about making sure there’s a raft of measures in place to ensure a safe environment and provide help should anyone be vulnerable.
“The radios give venues the capability to work together in a quick and secure fashion which helps make our city as safe as possible and builds confidence in Stirling’s night-time economy.
“We are also pleased to be a partner on the fantastic Safebase initiative supporting the work of the volunteers who go out in cold weather to provide a safety net for anyone who needs it.”
Safebase provides a safe environment for anyone visiting the city at night and includes volunteer-led first aid patrols and an area for people to shelter if they have been stranded due to injury, incapacity or missing transport home.
They will be operating from around 8.30pm on December 23 and Hogmanay until around 4am the following morning with the ‘safe haven’ located at the service entrance of the Thistles on Goosecroft Road.
Richard McLennan, chair of Safebase Scotland, said: “We aim to create a safer experience for people enjoying the festive season in Stirling and our team can help with a variety of situations – for example if people are lost or need help to find a taxi home.”
