Could Nottingham be the first of many?

According to the Nottingham Evening Post, Nottingham could be about to become the first city in England and Wales to introduce a total ban on street drinking.

City Council Leader Jon Collins hopes to enforce the ban using the new Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 which comes into force early next year.  

The legislation allows councils to impose drinking bans without approval from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

If Councillor Collins is successful, anyone caught drinking in public or anyone refusing to hand over alcohol when asked would face arrest and a fine of up to £500.

I should declare that I was at university in Nottingham for four years and I am aware of the problems that the city centre faces at evenings and on weekends.

However the move smacks of a local authority choosing to blanket ban the often relatively harmless act of enjoying a drink outside, rather than leave the initiative with police officers to judge on a case-by-case basis.

This is yet another piece of legislation which will create criminals out of law abiding people. The really worrying part is that Nottingham is likely to be the first of many cities that jump on the bandwagon.

By Dylan Sharpe