August 24, 2011 7.41 am This story is over 156 months old

Lukewarm reply to petition on booze ban

Booze ban: Councillors noted the lack of evidence needed for new measures to reduce anti-social drinking in Lincoln.
A total of six members of the public voted for the DPPO at the meeting. There were no votes against it.

Councillors gave a tepid reception to a petition from residents demanding new measures to curb anti-social drinking in Lincoln city centre.

At the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee (CLSC) on August 24, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire Police, along with health, social and local business representatives argued the case for the introduction of a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) in Lincoln.

The debate was fuelled by a petition the City Council received in June on behalf of 90 local residents, asking for the DPPO in around half the city.

A DPPO would give officers the power to stop people drinking alcohol, and was described as another tool in a set of measures against anti-social drinking.

However, the CLSC noted the lack of evidence that Lincoln needs a blanket DPPO order. City Councillor Karen Lee, CLSC Chair, said: “We’ve listened and considered all the points raised and whether or not to impose a DPPO.

“We fully understand that should this committee recommend to the City Council Executive to impose a DPPO, this would just be one tool to deal with the issue [of anti-social drinking].

“A thorough support network would be required with various partners, most notably Lincolnshire Police.

“We also fully appreciate that in order to justify implementing any DPPO, wherever area this may be, the council will need to be fully satisfied that they have evidence from police or the Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Team that anti-social behaviour or nuisance is occurring through the consumption of alcohol.

“We must acknowledge that the police and ASB Team currently do not necessarily have the evidence to put in place a blanket DPPO, or even in the areas suggested by Mr Williamson [the main petitioner].

“We are recommending to the Executive that if a DPPO was imposed, the benefit of which will be defined by robust supporting evidence,” Lee concluded.

A decision will now be made by the City of Lincoln Council Executive on whether to implement a DPPO.