THE thousands of pounds being spent regenerating Freeman Street in Grimsby will have been wasted if street drinking and antisocial behaviour is not tackled, according to Humberside's Police and Crime Commissioner.
The PCC Matthew Grove told Freeman Street traders and representatives from agencies across North East Lincolnshire at a meeting on Monday that partnership working was the key to preventing the street becoming a no-go zone.
The meeting, held at Grimsby's new Open Door centre, in Albion Street, was prompted by an October front page in the Grimsby Telegraph which highlighted the drinking, drug-taking, sex workers and daylight robbery that takes place on Grimsby's once premier shopping area.
"All this regeneration will come to nothing if we do not tackle this," said Mr Grove.
"We need every organisation to pull together here to try and drive street drinkers off the streets, we are all pieces of the jigsaw which will solve this."
Fed-up traders told the meeting that their customers feel intimidated and that the groups of drinkers are driving shoppers away from Freeman Street.
People have been filmed taking and selling drugs in public, while one woman was seen burning a substance with a child next to her.
Traders have apportioned blame to the sale of cheap foreign beer in off-licences.
Mr Grove admitted the size of the task, but said it was "not a unique problem to Freeman Street or Grimsby".
But he said the drinking and related antisocial behaviour was causing "real difficulty" to traders and to the ambience of the area.
He said the impending ban on drinking alcohol in public places was the first piece in the jigsaw, but that the larger issue was "a complex social problem".
He said: "We are talking double figures of people standing around in each group, they are noisy and they are encouraged to the area by cheap alcohol."
Councillor Steve Beasant, Liberal Democrat member for the East Marsh Ward, said: "Residents have told me that when they are walking down there they cross the road to avoid the groups because they feel intimidated, particularly outside the pubs.
"That is a traffic safety concern in itself, people constantly crossing the road."
Gemma McCarthy, North East Lincolnshire Council licensing enforcement officer, said the authority was looking closely at the 'Ipswich model', where police and partners launched a campaign to stop the sale of super strength alcohol from off-licences.
She said evidence showed that people drinking lower strength beer would be more susceptible to help from agencies.
Adrian Moody, licensing manager, conceded that unless a nationwide minimum pricing policy was introduced, it would be very difficult to control the pricing of alcohol itself.
The police commissioner suggested a root cause could be the sale of individual cans, providing a short-term fix for the thirsty.
Debbie Fagan, head of strategic housing at the council, said the nine pubs, two restaurants and five off licenses in Freeman Street, meant alcohol was readily on tap.
"We also know that proper smoking areas are limited. The pubs were built well before the smoking ban and were not designed to accommodate it, people therefore have to go out on to the street," she said.
Sergeant Colin Jarrett, of Humberside Police, said there was "massive under-reporting" of crime in the area, and urged traders, shoppers and residents to log every crime they see.
He said more crimes being reported would result in a higher visibility of police in the area.
A trader suggested the nearby Harbour Place, which offers support for the homeless, was attracting the drinkers.
"They are all congregating in that area, they are noisy and they are rowdy," he said.
Allen Young, project director at Harbour Place, said the centre was dealing with 55 people each day on average, and was getting people back in to work.
He said people who had been drinking or taking drugs were not tolerated, but said he feared so called "legal highs" were a growing issue.
"Seventy per cent of those people who are causing a problem do not come to Harbour Place, and we have strict policy on banning people," he said.
"Now legal highs have come on the scene, people who are on them are on another planet and it is disturbing.
"But we are part of the solution, there are a lot of poor people in the area and we are trying to get people back on the straight and narrow.
"All we can do is work with all who come to us to try and sort out their problems."
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