Ewan McVicar's Pavilion Festival to remain 18 only after licence bid knockback

Ayr DJ Ewan McVicar’s Pavillion Festival will remain as an adult only event after councillors knocked back a bid to open it up to families and children.

Organisers of the three-day event held at the town’s Low Green had applied for a licence to allow young people of 14 years and above to gain entry.

However, councillors sitting on South Ayrshire’s Licensing Board unanimously voted to maintain the age limit to 18 and over.

Licensing Standards Officer Catrina Andrew explained the application of a licence allowing alcohol to be consumed on the whole site during the event was granted.

She said: “It is the board’s usual policy to ensure an area or areas are identified at each event for the sale and consumption of alcohol, and in the update to the policy statement, preference for a food and drink village was described.

“This meant that the board would not usually grant an application that requested alcohol to be permitted across the whole event site.

“However, in the board granted permission to this applicant for the festival to permit the whole festival site to be licensed, excluding the big wheel, and to allow patrons the ability to walk around the site freely with alcohol.

“This was mainly due to the festival area being completely fenced in, with patrons not being permitted to leave and re-enter, and due to the event restricted to those aged years and over.”

The event organisers also offered to ensure all under 18s be accompanied by someone over the age of 21.

Conservative Councillor Bob Pollock said: “I’m not satisfied that it would fulfil the objective of protecting young people.

“It’s quite clear from the extension to the areas that’s proposed. Within this, this is very much seen as both a music and a drinking event, and introducing young people into it retrogrades the policy.”

He said he was happy to approve the licence other than the age limits, including conditions that would prevent people not at the event drinking alcohol in the Low Green and all drinks being decanted into plastic cups.

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