A Letter to the Editor...
"I am sure most of us welcome the news that Merton Council plans a blanket ban on problem public drinking in the borough, as reported recently in the local press. Drunken disorder and drink-related anti-social disorder cause real misery and we need to crack down on it wherever it occurs.
I am therefore delighted that, as a direct result of the Licensing Committee’s recommendation to Full Council, it was unanimously agreed by Full Council to ask local residents and businesses whether you think we should implement a borough-wide Controlled Drinking Zone (CDZ). Such a measure would not prevent people drinking in public, but it would make it an offence for people to continue to drink alcohol in the streets after they have been asked not to do so by the police.
Please do take part in the consultation when it is launched in the New Year, especially if you live in areas such as South Wimbledon, Colliers Wood and Morden which don't currently have a CDZ. If you vote in favour, we could see a borough-wide CDZ rolled out across Merton as soon as April 2013, helping make the borough a safer and more pleasant place for us all."
Councillor David Simpson
Chairman of Merton's Licensing Committee
December 14, 2012