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CRACKDOWN ... Sergeant Andy Pilling with 80 litres of alcohol seized in just four hours in Castleton earlier this year – but one local landlord is deeply unhappy with the situation.
CRACKDOWN ... Sergeant Andy Pilling with 80 litres of alcohol seized in just four hours in Castleton earlier this year – but one local landlord is deeply unhappy with the situation.
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Landlord's challenge to street drinking ban

Laura Shannon
1/ 9/2007

A LANDLORD is planning to challenge council officials over Rochdale’s on-street drinking ban.

Since the ban came into force in Castleton, regulars at the Midland Beer Company in Manchester Road have had to obey regulations while watching yobs openly flouting the law in front of them.

Landlord Chris Charters said: “People get very frustrated when they are outside having a cigarette and see people walking past not old enough to drink carrying cans of cider.

“It’s difficult to justify to customers who are old enough and sensible enough that they can’t go outside with drinks, even though kids as young as 12 are walking past doing just that.

“If you are going to impose a law it needs to be enforced.”

Mr Charters wants a meeting with licensing managers and hopes to get support from other landlords in the area.

He added: “For years customers of this pub could stand just outside the doors with their drink and watch the world go by, but they can no longer do that.

“I want to organise a meeting with the council, licensing officers and police to re-negotiate the law because we live in a democracy. New laws can’t just be thrust upon us.

“We have adhered to the smoking ban but now customers can’t even have a cigarette outside and take their drink with them.”

Councillor Pat Flynn voiced support for Mr Charter’s efforts. She said: ”It’s not fair when there is one rule for yobs and another rule for respectable people in the community.

“Children are always walking past with cans in their hands even though they are underage.

“It’s always the respectable people being punished and the street drinking ban is difficult to enforce anyway.”


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Most recent 2 of 2 user comments

   You have a good point Chris with the ballon heads that hang around in the centre of Castleton with nothing better to do than walk arould drinking bottles of cider, but it's also intimidating for passers by to have gangs of people hanging around outside a pub especially a pub which fronts straight onto the pavement where you might have mothers with prams wanting to get by for instance.
John Simpson
2/09/2007 at 14:28
   if you can't beat them why not join them? it seems to be acceptable for these kids to drink on benches ,at the railway, on the canal and the community centre so why not join them? you get stopped for drinking outside a pub but not where these people go so i say lets join them we won't get stopped because we are not outside a pub.mind you would we have to partake in anti social behaviour to fit in? it's worth thinking about.
castleton resident, castleton
1/09/2007 at 19:35
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