A BOOZE ban in Camden Town has dramatically reduced nuisance street drinking, a secret council dossier claims.
The draft report being prepared by environment officials for senior Labour councillors heralds the Controlled Drinking Zone (CDZ) pilot scheme operating around Camden Town Underground Station.
Initial notes suggest the numbers of street drinkers in the area has been slashed, while those accessing vital services has increased.
But opponents of the scheme insist that the Town Hall must wait to see if the ban has simply shifted the problem to other areas of the borough. Under the CDZ plan, street drinkers stopped within the sign-posted area can be stripped of super-strength lagers and ciders.
Drinkers can be arrested if they refuse to pour away their beer but alcoholics are directed to the council-run Wet Service, a service designed to help them overcome their addiction.
It is understood that figures gathered at the Town Hall show the cut in street drinking could freefall beyond 80 per cent. More detailed results will not be known until the report is finalised by department chiefs next month.
A council press official last night (Wednesday) said any cut would be welcomed but refused to get overexcited.
She said: “Although the early signs are encouraging, the scheme is only a pilot and we will be looking at its results.”
Tory Councillor Jonny Bucknell said last night (Wednesday): “The jury is still out as to whether it should have been a boroughwide measure. I know that there has still been a problem in South End Green (Hampstead). We will have to see if there has been displacement.”
And Haverstock ward Lib Dem Councillor Gill Fraser added that Queen’s Crescent - in the heart of her ward and where she works in a fish and chip shop - had seen a massive increase in street drinking. She said: “It’s full of drunks now - and they have all come down from Camden Town. If they do it at all, it should be right across the country. This has really hit us.”
Camden Town ward Councillor Jake Sumner said: “I think the real test will be this summer when there is more problems with street drinking but there have been positive results so far. In general it has been a useful tool to try and tackle street drinking in Camden Town.”