OLD COLWYN EAST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
Talk by Mr Rafferty Licensing Officer Conwy CBC
14th Jan 2004
14th Jan 2004
Minute of a presentation to the Association on 14 th January 2004
Presentation by Mr Phil Rafferty, Chief Licensing Officer, Conwy County Council
Mr Rafferty was welcomed and started by explaining the work of his department which includes the licensing of taxis, and late night refreshment houses and theatres. A nother aspect covered by the department is births deaths and marriages.
Changes are likely to come into force in July or August of 2004 which will see the licensing of persons and premises involved in the sale of alcohol , transferred from the licensing justices to the local authority.
Such premises as pubs and takeaways and clubs will be managed by his department .
Many areas previously dealt with by the police are being transferred to the local authority. The Authority are doing quite well in dealing with them .
He gave an example of an off license where drinking can be linked to a particular premises, make contact with the council and they will make a link with the licensed promises. In reply to a question about how his department would gain evidence, he replied ‘by CCTV and also we have four enforcement officers who can go out and making inquiries’ .
H e said that there is a 24 hour call out system operated.
H e gave an example of the Washington and of the Boulevard in Llandudno which are constantly monitored by the licensing division.
A resident said that she had been involved as the manager of an off licence in Old Colwyn. S he made the point that the shop tended to get the blame for underage drinking but said that the staff did their best . I t was commonplace she said for older people to buy drink for the underage and give it to them. S he said she had seen it happen. I n Old Colwyn, the Old Colwyn Posse were mainly over the age of eighteen . T he group included people between the ages of twelve and twenty, it is just an Old Colwyn trait, she said some people just like to hang around the streets and drink . O ften the problem is people in their thirties and forties buying and giving drinks to the underage.
Mr. Rafferty said that he took the point ; the job of his department was to make licence holders more socially aware that they have a right to refuse. As a Division, he said the department would give support, training and advice to licence holders.
The resident went on to say that super-markets in the area employ young people. There are also outlets which are easier to steal drink from than the off licence.
Mr. Rafferty said that a new regime would come where there would be two types of licence, one would be a licence for a person to sell alcohol , the other would be a licence for one of several types of premises .
H e also spoke about the designation of places for the control of consumption of alcohol in public places . D esignation he said replaces bye-laws, which forbade drinking at any time in any circumstances . D esignation on the other hand did not affect people who were drinking in a reasonable manner but gave the police a tool in the form of a power of arrest. I f a person drinking in a manner , considered to involve antisocial behaviour, the officer can demand that the person handover the drink and stop drinking. F ailure to do so gives a power of arrest to the officer.
Mr. Rafferty said that designation was being found in practice to be successful. M erely having signs on the road actually deterred people from drinking in the area. I t is of course dependent on police resources.
Mr. Rafferty noted that the association had an interest in street designation. H e told the meeting to continue to give the information about drinking in public places to the police because his department will , confer with the crime analyst at Prestatyn in seeking to come to a decision about areas to be designated.
T he Secretary said to Mr. Rafferty that people tended not to call police anymore because of various issues but to bring the matter to the attention of our residents association who in turn passed the information on to the police via the C.B.M. If his department is relying on the crime analyst via computer statistics of the number of calls about an area then they will not be effective. T he C.B.M. is aware of where the problem areas are and is the best source of information for his department and he had said at a previous meeting with the Secretary that he would consult with the residents association but more importantly with the
C.B. M. when seeking to make their decision. Mr. Rafferty said that the police are insisting that the consultations are done properly via the crime analyst.
A resident said in that not all young people have regard for the law and therefore, what use were signs.
Mr. Rafferty replied that in Llandudno they a re working extremely well. Y oung person s seeking to drink in public areas tend not to drink where the signs are in place they just go somewhere not designated.
A resident gave an instance that he finds many lager cans in Llawr Pentre area when on his way to work in the morning. I sn ’ t that evidence of the drinking in public places .
Mr. Rafferty replied that this might be the best situation where there was little antisocial behaviour involved and people did not complain .
A resident asked how often designation would be reviewed .
Mr. Rafferty replied that they intended to review once a year and get it in place for the summer when most drinking in public places happened .
A resident asked “ don ’ t they just move somewhere else?” to which he replied ”they tend to stop drinking in the area, concerned because of the extra police powers, they don’t look for the signs they just move on ”
Mr Rafferty left a number of explanatory leaflets for the members
The Chair thanked Mr Rafferty for his talk and there was a round of applause
