York 'stag and hen party zone' plan criticised

York Central MP Rachael Maskell says residents and tourists are being turned off from visiting the city centre by the stag and hen party culture.

She has said she'd like to see European-style zones which could be placed in one corner of the city – possibly near the train station – away from residential areas.

But Matt Mavir, managing director of Britain’s leading stag and hen firm Last Night of Freedom, estimates stag and hen parties bring up to £10 million-a-year to the local economy and has accused Ms Maskell of nimbyism – adding she was over-egging the situation in York to score cheap political points with voters.

Mr Mavir said: “A city centre is about unity but these plans aim to divide people, effectively putting stags and hens in a pen as if it was a zoo.

“This is simply nimbyism. No other city in Britain is suggesting anything this radical, even the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle where the stag and hen industry is even bigger.

“Perhaps worst of all, these plans show scant regard for the rate-paying bars, restaurants and hotels that are just recovering from years of crippling covid restrictions.

“This would create an economic black hole in much of the city’s hospitality sector.”

But the York MP has said residents want to see a change.

She said: “Residents across York have had enough of being driven out of their city, when they and their families want to enjoy the unique York offer. It is time that Council leaders got a grip and made a plan. As I reach out to families, they want a family friendly, accessible city, where local residents can meet up, shop and children can play in the city centre, however the growth in party groups in the city is locking local people out.

“This week, at the Labour Party conference, we have been setting out how we want local people to have a real stake in the places they live. Instead of handing the city over to businesses which are extracting everything they can out of York, we want to see local businesses thrive and local people bursting with pride about York. We are going to need Labour in charge to contain this night time economy and hand the city back to local people.”

Rachael Maskell (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Mavir pointed again to figures obtained by Last Night of Freedom under the Freedom of Information Act which revealed that there had been just seven police incidents involving York’s stags and hens since the start of 2021.

Hen parties feature heavily in York

And despite York recently being crowned as one of Europe’s most popular hen party hotspots – with more flocking there than Las Vegas and Barcelona – there were almost as many stag and hen police incidents in Scarborough and leafy Hambleton and Richmondshire.