Alcohol ban at play area

A village playing field will become an alcohol-free zone after the district council agreed to a request from residents.

Police will have the power to confiscate alcohol from people meeting on a field on Grassthorpe Road, Sutton-on-Trent.

The designated public place order was requested by the parish council after residents voiced concerns about youths who congregated on the field, drinking alcohol and being anti-social.

The chairman, Mr Maurice Jordan, said they were advised by the police to request the order.

“We have always had a problem there,” he said.

“Anything that helps us tackle it is obviously a good thing, but we need to keep plugging away at it.”

Mr Jordan said youths who arrived at the field in cars and motorbikes had caused problems for people living on Stenthorpe Road, which backs on to the field and includes a number of elderly residents. He said the youths also left a lot of litter.

The order was supported by Inspector Andy Gan, the local area commander, who said it would greatly assist the police in tackling the problems of alcohol drinking in the area.

He said the behaviour was deterring other young people from using the facilities at the field, which includes a play area.

The order was made at a meeting of the district council’s general purposes committee. It will be enforced as soon as signs are put up in the area outlining the order and the consequences for those who contravene it.

Sets

The district council’s senior solicitor, Mr Terry Wilson, said they were looking into changes to the signs across the district after the Advertiser highlighted problems with those in Southwell. The signs had little effect because they had too much writing and were placed too high for people to read.

Mr Wilson said they were looking into having two sets of signs, one with the full details of the order, which they are bound by law to display, and another simpler sign to illustrate the order with a picture.