THE chair of a village gala committee has expressed disappointment and confusion after East Lothian Council’s licensing board refused to allow the group to serve alcohol at their summer gathering but granted a neighbouring village’s event permission to sell booze.
At a meeting of East Lothian Council’s licensing board, East Linton Gala was refused permission to sell alcohol, with the board ruling that the gala was a “predominantly children’s event” and it would be against council policy to do so.
Gala chair Cat McMeekan argued that the drinks tent would raise funds for the community but Councillor Lachlan Bruce said that this was not a good enough reason to grant a licence.
However, a similar meeting at which Aberlady Gala organisers sought permission for a drinks tent at its gala last Saturday saw the group granted permission, with a later opening time of 2.30pm. The board voted three to two in favour.
Speaking to the Courier after the decision, Ms McMeekan expressed her disappointment.
She said: “I read the decision for Aberlady Gala and I am disappointed and very confused.
“I must stress that I think the council made the correct decision by granting Aberlady Gala permission to sell alcohol.
“I was delighted for them. But I do not understand why they were given permission and we were not? What we proposed was the same thing as what they proposed.
“I understood it was to be a later opening time of 2.30pm [for selling alcohol at Aberlady Gala]; this is something we 100 per cent would have been happy to do but were not given the opportunity to. I just don’t understand how this decision was reached and on what grounds constitutes one being granted and one not.”
Ms McMeekan previously told the Courier that the loss of alcohol sales would have an impact on the future of the gala and could force the committee to have to charge for some events in future.
READ MORE: East Linton Gala banned from selling alcohol
She added: “I think there needs to be more accountability from our councillors.
“I have never experienced anything like this anywhere else and I think our councillors need to stand up and be held accountable.
“Decisions like this also call into question the integrity of the council and why they are favouring some villages over others.
“I would like to see it outlined what the difference was between both applications, so that we can be better prepared for next year.”
A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said in a statement: “Each application to the East Lothian Licensing Board is considered on its own individual merit and it is for the board to determine whether or not to grant the licence based on the information set out in the application and the contribution and responses provided by the applicant or agent at the meeting.”
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