Local council launches bid to tackle on-street drinking

By Michelle Weir
Published 7th Nov 2022, 08:34 BST
Updated 7th Nov 2022, 08:55 BST
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Antrim and Newtownabbey council has insisted that the PSNI is “best placed to confiscate alcohol’ in the borough where there is “low level” on-street drinking, councillors have been told.

A report presented at a meeting of the local authority at Mossley Mill, earlier this week, noted ” a small number of hotspot areas”.

The report was a draft response to a consultation by the Department for Communities relating to drinking in public places which is part of an anti-social behaviour review to consider if councils should be given enforcement powers such as fixed penalty notices and to seize alcohol.

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Currently, by-laws prohibit the consumption of alcohol within designated areas with fines up to £500. The PSNI can issue a fixed penalty notice to those over the age of 18 for being drunk in a public place or for disorderly behaviour

On street drinkingOn street drinking
On street drinking

The PSNI can confiscate alcohol from those under 18 who can be prosecuted for persistently possessing drink in a public place and if caught three or more times within a 12-month period, could face a £500 fine.

The council says that although the consumption of alcohol in public places in the borough is “relatively low”, there is a “small number of “hotspot areas that would benefit from heightened enforcement activity” although it is considered that the system is “largely effective in controlling the issue of public consumption of alcohol”.

Antrim DUP Councillor Paul Dunlop, a member of Antrim and Newtownabbey Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP), commented: “It is more a weekend thing but can heighten at different times through the yea .”