ALL parts of Craven Arms should be no-go zones for troublesome drinkers, the town council has decided.
It was agreed unanimously by the council, at Tuesday’s meeting, that a Designated Public Alcohol Place Orders (DPPO) should be put in place across the district for which the council was responsible.
“This was preferred to the option of trying to designate certain areas around the town,” said chairman Clive Leworthy.
“Because the town is small it was felt that it would be easy to avoid certain areas. The act does not make it a criminal offence to consume alcohol within a designated area but an offence is committed if the individual refuses to comply with a police request to refrain from drinking.”
The order also allows police to take alcohol from people who were behaving in an anti-social manner – currently a big problem in Craven Arms.
“The council is happy to support the local police in their request to have this additional power. A number of residents and business people attended the meeting and supported the police in their efforts to combat drink related anti-social behaviour. Some felt that alcohol was not the only problem but it was felt that this was a step in the right direction,” said Councillor Leworthy.
“We will now sit down with Shropshire Council and start the process of consultation to put this order in place.”
At the meeting, attended by about 16 members of the public, PC Barry Morgan said around 350 signatures had been collected on a petition for the order to be put in place.
PC Morgan said he had received 56 calls in July and August complaining about public drunkenness in the town.