Nottingham council considers city-wide alcohol ban

Officials in Nottingham are considering extending the city’s ban on street drinking. 

Seven areas in Nottingham currently have street drinking bans and the council is looking to extend this across the whole city. Police are authorised to confiscate and dispose of alcohol from anyone they suspect of anti-social behaviour and causing problems.

The Designated Public Place Orders (DPPO) gives police the power to order people to cease drinking and to surrender any containers holding alcohol. Failure to comply with the police order could result in arrest or prosecution.

Police in the area have said that they hope the DPPO would be used with other initiatives to help deter anti-social drinking and would be applied “using common sense”.

Chief superintendent Simon Nickless, divisional commander for Nottingham, told the BBC: “What we have found is with the Designated Public Place Orders, rather than waiting for the negative things to happen, it is being a bit more preventive.”

The council is currently going through a consultation period on the proposals and the decision will be announced later in the year.

City council leader Jon Collins said: “It’s not to say people can’t be trusted to drink responsibly but it is about setting the right sort of tone.

“It’s about tackling a minority of people who drink to excess and drink in a way which brings all of us difficulties.”