York stag and hen parties devastate city - MP

Stag and hen parties in York have brought "devastation" to the city, an MP has said.

Rachael Maskell MP said homes in the suburbs were being rented out as "party houses" and some local residents were avoiding the city centre at weekends due to the number of parties.

Ms Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, said it instead needed to become a "leading family-friendly city".

City of York Council said it wanted "everyone to be able to enjoy York".

On social media, Ms Maskell said York needed to start moving away from the revelry for the sake of local residents and the economy.

In reply, one former York resident said it was a "key reason" they had moved away from the city.

However, another resident argued the parties brought in "lots of money to the hospitality sector".

Ms Maskell said she was particularly concerned York's housing stock was being depleted for first-time buyers and called for tougher holiday let rules.

She said there were 1,785 short-term holiday lets in the city, adding she was due to meet the housing minister on Friday to discuss the situation.

She said: "Party groups are coming to the city and we're seeing a big rise in Airbnbs where people are staying, so it's now not just contained in the city centre, it's growing out to the communities where people live.

"People are buying up housing stock, cash in hand, so the chance for first-time buyers trying to get their house is disappearing and it's pushing up the market price."

Ms Maskell also said that many of the groups attending the city for stag and hen weekends or events in the horse racing calendar spent their money in national chain bars and shops, meaning little benefit for the local economy.

Rebecca Hill, managing director of the Galtres Lodge Hotel and chair of Indie York, an independent business association which supports more than 200 businesses in the city, said: "Some hen and stag parties are a bit more reserved and aren't just out to get drunk, but the ones we're talking about here don't generally support the independent businesses.

"When York has 68% independent businesses in the city, that's a shame."

Ms Hill said York needed a "10-year plan to make a city which works for everybody", welcoming visitors of all kinds to York while protecting businesses which were negatively affected by anti-social behaviour.

"A sweeping statement of there being 'devastation' probably isn't reflective of everyone in the city," Ms Hill added.

Ms Maskell also said she was aware of visitors to York who were "disgusted at what they've had to witness and shield their children from, right through to people feeling vulnerable".

One response to the MP's tweet claimed Ms Maskell "won't solve the UK's drunken party problem through localised family-friendly puritanism".

Another said: "Placing a negative value judgment on things that aren't 'family-friendly' in York is unfair to the hospitality industry."

Andrew Lowson, executive director of York's Business Improvement District, said the city had seen a noticeable rise in stag and hen parties in the last month, "maybe more so than usual due to Covid-delayed weddings".

"Nobody wants to see anti-social behaviour in York and the majority of parties that visit the city behave well and spend money," he said.

When asked if local residents were being put off as a consequence of large groups of drinkers, Mr Lowson said: "Looking at Movement Insights data to date from May 2022 , 44% of people using the city centre came from the York area.

"For a tourist city, that shows huge local support."

Councillor Denise Craghill, executive member for housing and safer neighbourhoods at City of York Council, said: "Officers are working on a report on the impact of short-term holiday lets in the city to make clear the options legally available to us for regulation.

"While the number of holiday lets is currently a small proportion of our total housing stock, which is nearly 90,000 properties, these properties are concentrated in some neighbourhoods and some of them are having a very negative impact."

The council recently carried out a consultation on two Public Space Protection Orders in the city, giving police and council officers additional powers to address alcohol-related anti-social behaviour, Ms Craghill added.

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