POOLE'S first alcohol-free zone could be in place by November - and police will have the power to issue on-the-spot fines to people drinking there.

Branksome Recreation Ground is on track to be the first place in the town to get a ban on drinking in public, with the town centre and Waterloo Estate to follow.

And police say if these prove successful, they will push for more zones to be set up across Poole.

Poole Safe officer PC Ian Watkin, who is behind the proposal, said Branksome Rec could be alcohol-free by November, when new laws allowing police officers to impose fixed penalty fines on the street come into play.

"At the moment, all we can do is confiscate alcohol and deal with people if they become drunk and disorderly," he said.

"This gives us a much lower starting level, so that we can deal with it before it gets to the point of them becoming drunk and abusive."

When on-the-spot fixed penalty notices are introduced across the country on November 1, drinking in a designated area will incur a £50 fine.

Branksome Cllr Joyce Lavender has been working closely with PC Watkin to get the zone on the recreation ground.

"It started off because we were having a lot of trouble with youngsters drinking and causing problems on the rec and the surrounding area - groups of 20 or 30 of them, sometimes." she said.

"We felt this was the only way of keeping the rec for the people. We're not against youngsters coming on the rec, but we want it to be for everybody."

Council backing

The council is backing the idea, but needs to advertise the zone in case of objections from members of the public before it becomes official, although PC Watkin said residents have been supportive so far.

The other two proposed zones - in the town centre including High Street, Hill Street and Kingland Road and Waterloo Estate, including Milne Road, Marshall Road and the Parade - are going before the environment overview group on Thursday, which will decide whether to proceed with consultation.

While the Waterloo Estate also has problems with under-age drinking, the zones will also be there to stop older people being drunk and disorderly, which PC Watkin said is a problem in the town centre.

Public drinking has already been banned in a number of areas in Bournemouth, and PC Watkin said it has been effective in areas such as Westbourne - however, this has moved the problem to The Avenue and Seamoor Road.

He said police will address the issue of drinkers simply moving elsewhere: "I hope that doesn't happen, but we're going to have to look at using different powers and see if we can bring a long-term solution."

First published: Oct 4