Town forum hopes to end curse of night binge-drinking culture

THE binge drinking culture in Scarborough is to come under the spotlight in a new attempt to reduce the town centre’s economic dependence on alcohol.

Council bosses are teaming up with police to create a new forum for residents whose lives are being make a misery by drunken yobs.

The seaside town has a long history of public order problems linked to heavy drinking dating back to the early 1970s when the resort was a much more popular destination for single young people.

Although things have calmed down in more recent years there is still a great deal of drink-related disturbance including the town’s infamous Boxing Day pub crawl.

This summer, when Scarborough was the busiest it has been for years with people holidaying at home, there were a number of incidents which concerned police.

At the start of August, yobs punched a middle-aged woman and hit her on the head with a beer can in front of her teenage daughter in an unprovoked attack near the town centre.

The woman, aged 50, and the 18-year-old were walking at midnight along North Marine Road, past the fire station, when the incident happened.

Police said the victims were approached by two youths and a girl aged between 16 and 18.

One thug threw a beer can hitting the woman on her head, then verbally abused her daughter before punching the woman in her stomach, causing rib injuries.

Now residents and business owners in Scarborough are invited to attend the next open meeting of the Scarborough Urban Area Forum, where the issue of Scarborough at night and the night time economy and the impact it has on local residents will be discussed.

The meeting, which will be held on Wednesday at 7pm at Scarborough Library in Vernon Road, is open to anyone to attend. Guest speakers are from North Yorkshire Police, and Scarborough Council’s licensing department.

Also involved are new initiatives to back up the police which are proving very successful in bringing order to the town centre – the Night Marshals and Street Angels projects.

Forum chairman Lindy Rowley said: “We are hoping that residents will come along and not only tell us their concerns so that our partners can do something about them, but also to get the town talking positively about how we can create an alternative night time culture in Scarborough that does not revolve around alcohol.”

Following the guest speakers there will be a chance for residents to put any questions or concerns they may have to a panel of local senior officers and policy makers.

Scarborough Council forum support officer Matthew Joseph added: “I can assure residents that any issues they raise at the meeting will be considered and where possible acted upon. This is your chance to have your say.”

He said alcohol-fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour would be high on the agenda, especially with late-night drinking and some clubs open to 5am.

Possible solutions included late opening by shops, cafes and restaurants to encourage families to visit the town centre in the evening to create a better atmosphere.

“They want to generate a continental cafe culture, rather than having everything revolve around people coming into the town centre to get drunk,” he said.

“It is not just the negatives we want to concentrate on. We want to make the town centre a place which residents, families and everyone else can enjoy.”

n For further information about the Scarborough event contact Matthew Joseph on 01723 383562 or email matthew. [email protected]

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