Aberdeenshire Council has been criticised for not allowing community groups to use its new headquarters out-of-hours for free.
The £5million Buchan House in Peterhead officially opened earlier this month, and has been designed to bring together several local authority services under one roof.
But to ensure the new headquarters is kept pristine, the authority is charging groups who want to use the building out-of-hours to cover the cost of a late-night janitor.
The decision means that Peterhead Community Council – which previously met in Arbuthnot House – has been forced to meet in the local secondary school to avoid the charge.
Stephen Calder, who a former community councillor who still attends the meetings, has slammed the policy as ‘degrading’ to the town centre.
“Council chiefs will not permit the use of Arbuthnot House’s replacement by community groups, including the community council which is now being moved out of the town centre to a room at Peterhead Academy,” he said.
“The new Buchan House facilities must be open to Peterhead residents for community use during evenings and weekends to give a much-needed boost to our failing town centre.”
Mr Calder also raised concerns about the lack of parking for visitors to the council building, and said it would have a knock-on impact on parking elsewhere in the town.
Aberdeenshire Council has meanwhile described meeting the needs of the community council and other groups who want to use the new building as “challenging”.
A spokesman for the local authority said: “Buchan House is indeed a facility for both employees and the public, and we try to remain flexible in our approach.
“The challenge here is that the core operating hours for Buchan House are 7.30am until 6.30pm and any use of the building beyond that time would incur charges for janitorial services which would have to be borne by the user group concerned.
“Rather than having the community council face these charges, we have offered provision in other council facilities that remain open into the evening and we are happy to continue discussions with them about a suitable venue on an ongoing basis.”