Calling Time on Street Drinking – public engagement events
A number of public engagement events will be held by the Council in Aberdare and Pontypridd throughout August, to fully-inform residents about new rules tackling alcohol-related anti-social behaviour.
The Council has launched its Calling Time on Street Drinking campaign, which is promoting a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) coming into force from September 1 to introduce new rules about street drinking in Aberdare and Pontypridd. Throughout August, a total of 21 engagement events will take place in the two towns, to give residents further opportunities to find out more.
The PSPO will continue to dedicate the whole County Borough as a Controlled Drinking Zone. Authorised Council and police officers will therefore continue to request any person stops drinking and surrender alcohol if they are causing, or are likely to cause, anti-social behaviour.
In Aberdare and Pontypridd Town Centres only, #AlcoholFreeStreets will be introduced in dedicated zones where drinking alcohol will be prohibited. Any person refusing to hand over or dispose of their alcohol – once requested to do so by an authorised officer – will be handed a £100 fine.
The Council now has a dedicated homepage on its website to provide information about the campaign and the new rules – including maps of the no-drinking zones and answers to a number of Frequently Asked Questions. Visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/AlcoholFreeStreets for more information.
The public engagement events will also promote the campaign, and allow members of the public to ask questions and find out more information about the new rules. Each event will take place from 10am to 2pm.
The engagement events in Aberdare will take place at Commercial Street – on August 6th, 8th, 10th, 15th, 17th, 21st, 23rd, 29th and 31st.
Pontypridd’s events will start outside of NatWest Bank on August 3, while the remaining events on August 7th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, 28th and 30th will be at the Town Centre fountain. Information will also be available at South Wales Police’s open day at Ynysangharad Park on Friday, August 9, and a Council consultation day at the same venue on Thursday, August 16.
“Earlier this year, Cabinet agreed to implement the new PSPO to tackle alcohol-related anti-social behaviour from September – with a focus on Aberdare and Pontypridd following residents’ concerns raised in the 2016/17 crime perception survey, as part of the RCT Community Safety Partnership.
“Members also agreed that the Council would undertake a significant public engagement exercise leading up to the PSPO’s launch, to ensure residents and visitors to Aberdare and Pontypridd Town Centres know all about the new rules, and therefore what is expected from them, come September.
“Following the recent launch of the Calling Time on Street Drinking campaign to promote #AlcoholFreeStreets, the Council has now published a dedicated homepage on its website, to provide answers to residents’ questions about the implementation and enforcement of the new rules.
“To provide a further opportunity for residents to engage with the Council, a number of public engagement events will now take place in Aberdare and Pontypridd throughout August. I’d urge residents to visit one of the 21 events being organised by the Council in order to find out more about the new rules.”
