Nottingham City Council wants to prevent more off-licences opening in places such as Lenton, the Arboretum and Radford which have a street drinking and ‘pre-loading’ problem.
Police said the area in and around the Forest Recreation Ground had become ‘a magnet for street drinking’ and a hotspot for intimidation and anti-social behaviour.
Nottingham has two Saturation Zones – the City Centre and the Berridge, Arboretum and Radford parts of the city.
These zones limit the number of places allowed to open and sell alcohol, but they do not mean a blanket ban as every application is decided on its ‘own merit.’
The council must now decide whether to keep these Saturation Zones in place.
Cllr Linda Woodings (Lab) told the Licensing Committee on Tuesday, August 10: “My understanding is in the Berridge, Arboretum and Radford area we actually do say ‘no more off licences in this area.’
“I know a time when they were competing with each other with who could sell really strong alcohol at the lowest prices.”
She asked council officers for more detail about the policy in place.
Officers said the policy does not say ‘no off licences’ but the council’s Licensing Panel would utimately decide if the application was granted.
Nottinghamshire Police and Environmental Health stated in a report prepared for the commitee: “Where alcohol related anti-social behaviour has come about an individual has visited (usually a local) shop in the area, purchased alcohol and then gone on to drink it locally and subsequently cause anti-social behaviour or environmental littering by throwing the cans or bottles away in the streets, parks and public areas.
“The statistics provided therefore evidence a continuing need to control the number of alcohol licences being issued within these areas.
“Consumption of alcohol in and around the Forest Recreation Ground leads to an increase in anti-social behaviour as the area has become a magnet for street drinkers, with parents of local school children reporting incidents and concerns over street drinking.
“Hotspots for street drinkers include children’s play areas with concerns frequently raised by parents of children attending local schools regarding the intimidating and general behaviour of street drinkers.
“Whilst only a small proportion of incidents took place at off-licences, the alcohol sold from them is known to be a very large contributor to many of the other calls received by the police relating to this zone.”
Police have warned the council that off-licences can also be responsible for the ‘pre-loading phenomenon’ where alcohol is purchased cheaply by revellers before heading into the city for a night out.
Inspector Paul Gummer, who manages the city centre for Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The presence of a large number of off licences (in these areas) has increased the prevalence of pre-loading, on street drinking and also the anti-social behaviour associated with it.
“The ‘off licences’ cater for an increasing trend in “pre-loading” and in part provide the fuel for the street drinkers in Nottingham.
“It is the ‘pre-loading’ phenomenon that is thought to have caused the reduction in early evening incidents as users of the city centre now arrive later in the evening having already consumed large quantities of alcohol.”
The council is expected to retain the same Saturation Zones, but must review the terms by October 9, 2021.
