By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
A public order banning street drinking across swathes of Newark town centre is expected to be extended for a further three years.
The current order was first introduced in 2019 to clamp down on public drinking in the town.
People found drinking alcohol in public and who are causing or likely to cause a “nuisance or anti-social behaviour” receive a £75 fine as a result of the order.
They are also asked to leave the area covered by a public spaces protection order (PSPO), which includes all streets around Newark, and to hand over or throw away any open alcohol.
Now the Conservative-led council is planning to renew the order for a further three years after the terms of the initial 2019 PSPO came to an end.
Documents confirm the terms of the original order will remain the same and will continue to specifically target street drinking in Newark.
However, the fixed penalty notice fine level will be set to £100 and would be reduced to £75 if paid within 14 days. Failure to pay could result in a further fine of £1,000.
Figures show 29 reports of street drinking and related anti-social behaviour were recorded by the council during the three years of the previous PSPO.
Four of these incidents took place in 2019, with six in 2020, 14 in 2021 and five so far in 2022. Ten of these incidents led to enforcement action.
Nottinghamshire Police has recorded a further 164 street drinking-related incidents during the same period.
And the council believes continuing with the PSPO will help to “mitigate the problem” of street drinking in certain “hotspot areas” of Newark.
In a report, Alan Batty, business manager for public protection, said: “The location remains one where alcohol-related ASB persists, as shown by the police and council data.
“The measures available under the PSPO mitigate the problem by allowing incidents to be dealt with as they occur and an element of deterrent in the form of fixed penalty notices.
“The proposed control will provide an enforcement tool to control drink-related ASB.”
Members of the council’s general purposes committee will be recommended to approve the PSPO extension at a meeting on Thursday (June 23).
