Alcohol Disorder Zones Won’t Be Cure All To Tackle Booze Culture – Councils Leaders

5th June 2008

Ahead of the introduction of Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs) today (Friday), a new survey carried out by the Local Government Association has found that only one in three councils are considering using ADZs to tackle alcohol-related disorder.

The survey of 182 councils in England and Wales, carried out by TNS for the Local Government Association, found that 33% were not going to adopt ADZs, 34% were going to and 33% were still to decide. The survey also revealed that almost a quarter of councils (24%) said they expected to recoup the costs of operating ADZs through the charging regime, while 41% said they did not.

A quarter of respondents, even those planning to introduce the new zones, either did not know what their effect would be, or anticipated that their effect would be nil.

Councils that do intend to go ahead with ADZs are mainly motivated by a wish to reduce alcohol-related incidents and bad behaviour, although a quarter of the sample said the main attraction of the new arrangements were that they would give the police and themselves more power to act.

Commenting on the findings Chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Simon Milton, said:

“Councils will use every power that is available to them to help combat drink related crime and anti-social behaviour, as long as it is suitable for the area and has the support of the local people.

“The survey demonstrates that while there will be councils using these measures, there are many that remain unconvinced of the benefits of introducing Alcohol Disorder Zones in their part of the world. While these zones are an extra tool in the arsenal for councils and police to help combat drunken and rowdy behaviour, they will not be a cure all for the booze culture.

“Alcohol Disorder Zones are designed as a measure of last resort in attempting to reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder issues stemming from pubs, bars and clubs. While Alcohol Disorder Zones may seem like an attractive option, in practice, they may prove to be a costly, complicated and unwieldy tool for many councils.

“The major concern for many councils is the cost involved in preparing and implementing these zones and the additional burdens involved in attempting to recover the costs.

“There needs to be a radical overhaul of the way in which we as a nation see alcohol, from the way in which alcohol is marketed to the discounted offers on supermarket drinks. There needs to be far more done by retailers and producers of alcohol to help change the country’s attitude to beer and the bottle. “