Councillors back public consultation plans to combat anti-social drinking on Exmouth beaches

Councillors have unanimously backed plans aimed at tackling the growing issue of anti-social drinking on Exmouth's main beaches.

East Devon District Council's cabinet, when they met on Wednesday, supported plans to carry out public consultation on proposals to extend the existing Public Spaces Protection Order for the town to also cover the beach.

The existing PSPO, which covers a number of central streets in Exmouth, bans consumption of alcohol, urination in public, aggressive requests for money, or intimidatory behaviour, and allows officers to issue fixed penalty notices to those who don't comply.

But the current order doesn't cover Exmouth beach, which has sporadically over the last year seen incidents of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour, and with the demand of staycation this summer set to rise, councillors heard they were expecting to see a likely increased level of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour linked to the beach area.

The PSPO would not result in a blanket 'alcohol ban' for the beach and stop people having a glass of wine with a picnic, but would enable the police to make use of the powers to prevent people drinking to excess and causing anti-social behaviour, either by moving individuals on, confiscating their alcohol, or issuing fixed penalty notices if they fail to comply.

Backing the consultation, Cllr Paul Millar, who represents the Exmouth Halsdon ward, said: "This has become a major issue and a lot of it caused by people who travel to Exmouth from Exeter. This isn't an alcohol ban. It is not a blanket ban and members of the public won't be arrested for having a picnic on the Maer, but it is to stamp out binge drinking and late night anti-social behaviour which we saw last summer and have seen again this year."

Fellow Exmouth councillor Bruce de Saram added: "My inbox has been full of complaints on the issue, so it is excellent we are taking positive steps to stamp it out and to stamp out anti-social behaviour."

Cllr Fred Caygill said: "We need to enforce it and send out a clear message that it is not acceptable to break the law."

Cllr Jack Rowland, portfolio holder for finance, added: "It is essential we do this and if it is implemented, it is down to the police to use their discretion, as we don't want to dissuade people from having a picnic with a few drinks."

The council's cabinet backed the recommendation to carry out public consultation on proposals to vary the existing order to also cover the beach.

At the end of the five week consultation, a further report will come back to the cabinet around whether there is support for and a need for the urgent implementation for the order to be amended to be in place for the summer period 2021 – a period where an increase in related anti-social behaviour problems can be anticipated due to the staycation.

David Whelan, the council's community safety coordinator, in his report to the meeting, had said: "It is considered that during this summer and the demand of the staycation we are likely to see an increased level of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour linked to the beach area.

"The PSPO is already in existence in a number of central streets in Exmouth and allows authorised officers to deal with individuals by way of fixed penalty notices. The proposal would be for a variation of the existing order in order to simplify understanding and enforcement of the PSPO.

"The police are going to need to be proportionate and sensitive around its enforcement, where it is linked as a precursor to anti-social behaviour occurring or as a result of anti-social behaviour occurring, and use their discretion when to engage, when to educate, when to encourage and when there is a need to enforce."

Andrew Ennis, service lead for environmental health, at Wednesday's meeting, added: "The PSPO is a tool in the toolkit to deal with particular nuisances or problems confined to a geographical area and where they are detrimental to the local community.

"We have the order elsewhere in Exmouth and it is working well and police are making use of the powers on a weekly basis to prevent people drinking to excess and causing anti-social behaviour.

"We want to consult on extending the provision and we will listen to what the public say but there is a tight timescale for it to be effective for this summer."

The proposed changes to the order would also see it cover the beach area from Sandy Bay via Orcombe Point, to past the coastguard lookout station, past the Beach Gardens The Esplanade, The Maer, Queens Drive, and also round past the Sailing Club, Camperdown Yard and the Imperial recreation Ground, all the way to the half-moon field.

Consultation on the extension to the PSPO will begin shortly, with the aim being for the cabinet to make a decision on whether to alter the PSPO at their July meeting.