Town’s ‘wet zone’ set to be indoors (From Gazette)
Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting GAZETTE NEWS to 80360, or email
Town’s ‘wet zone’ set to be indoors
9:00am Wednesday 30th March 2011 in News
OFFICIALS are changing their plans for a wet zone for drunks in Colchester.
Councillors proposed an outside, police-free alcohol zone to rid St Botolph’s Circus underpass of antisocial alcoholics.
It is thought the wet zone will now be an indoor drinking area and will be set up on a trial basis, but officials would not reveal where the proposed location is.
It is thought that Colchester independent homeless charity the April Centre, in Mersea Road, could take on the project.
Colchester Council executive director Ian Vipond said the Safer Colchester Partnership, made up of the council, NHS North East Essex and the emergency services, had agreed to provide an indoor wet zone.
He added: “They have agreed in principle to proceed with a trial, provided the details can be worked through.
“It would be run, by a charity, as a trial, so part of this is, let’s see if it works.
“The idea of providing a safe location for alcohol addicts to meet – somewhere where the various health services and ourselves know where they were, would enable us to provide support and advice to them.
“It would also mean they would be out of areas where they cause, on occasions, some concern to the public.
“A site has been mentioned within the outer boundaries of the town centre.
“They just need to make sure they don’t need planning permission or other approvals.”
David Egan, of the April Centre, said plans for a new drop-in centre in Colne Bank Avenue are not part of plans for a wet zone.
He added: “Colne Bank Avenue is a day centre and would be open two days a week.
“We are keen to have a new day centre up and running, but that would be a dry zone. A wet zone takes a lot more infrastructure.
“We have been in some discussion with the council, but nothing is set in stone at the moment.
“The April Centre has a good history with homeless people and we house a lot of street drinkers, so it is something we are keen to be involved in.”
Colchester police said it is continuing with Operation Tertiary, which was launched in January to disperse drunks from churchyards across the town.
But officers have said they can only move people and will continue to do so until there is a long-term solution.
Comments(12)
Feisty CBC
says...
10:23am Wed 30 Mar 11
RitchieHicks
says...
10:51am Wed 30 Mar 11
Feisty CBC wrote:Pubs don't sell cans of 9% lager for £1.30 a can at 9am.
There are loads of "indoor wet zones" in operation in town already. They're called pubs.
Bwanna
says...
11:30am Wed 30 Mar 11
Feisty CBC
says...
12:26pm Wed 30 Mar 11
Bwanna wrote:The other day when i was in town, I saw a young mother with baby in tow and a can of lager resting on the back of the pushchair. Now that's what I call multi-tasking :)
If they are going to also sell beer (to keep them there) can they supply SKY SPORTS, we can then call it a male creche AND WE COULD ALL COME!!LOL
ALMONDS
says...
12:49pm Wed 30 Mar 11
Andy Hamilton
says...
3:22pm Wed 30 Mar 11
.
Presumably Colchester Council is going to use a building they own as no private landlord would risk it! Apart from a unit in the hythe, there is the old garage in Magdalen street. St James House/Roman house is only partly leased to Slackspace so could be shared with the drunks.
When will the uncaring town hall barbarians help those with problems rather than hiding them away. Offer treatment and counselling. Make it difficult for these unfortunate addicts to reinforce their addiction by grouping together. It is time this discredited public body realised residents matter more than the council's dream of a "creative" utopia where only the artistic elite are permitted.
romantic
says...
5:11pm Wed 30 Mar 11
Andy Hamilton wrote:To be fair, the article does say that the April Centre is prepared to give it a try. It's not a job that many of us would probably want to do, but I think I would agree with AndyP that it could be a "least worst" option. People are on the streets for various reasons, and are drunk at 9.00 am for various reasons. We cannot just write people off. I'm sure plenty of them would prefer not to be on the streets drinking, but it's a hard cycle and situaton to break out of.
Yet another impractical idea from the Town Hall. Where in the towncentre would an "indoor drink zone" be welcomed? Who is going to pay the inevitably high insurance premiums for the building? Who is going to pay for the staffing cost to keep control of a rowdy group? Who is going to pay for the regular replacement of vandalised furniture? Who is going to pay for the repeated cleaning services? Yes, it is you the wealthy taxpayer! Now those with a drink problem can destroy themselves in comfort and they are out of sight of the public. . Presumably Colchester Council is going to use a building they own as no private landlord would risk it! Apart from a unit in the hythe, there is the old garage in Magdalen street. St James House/Roman house is only partly leased to Slackspace so could be shared with the drunks. When will the uncaring town hall barbarians help those with problems rather than hiding them away. Offer treatment and counselling. Make it difficult for these unfortunate addicts to reinforce their addiction by grouping together. It is time this discredited public body realised residents matter more than the council's dream of a "creative" utopia where only the artistic elite are permitted.
If these people are in a place where they can perhaps get some help, maybe that will get some of them off their current path. Maybe the treatment and counselling you speak of will be available there.
It's not going to be some kind of universal panacea, but maybe this is a better option than the current situation. Of course, not every "street drunk" will even want to go to the April Centre. But I think it is worth trying it out, as they say, for a trial period. See how it goes, see if it works or not.
totallyfootball
says...
5:16pm Wed 30 Mar 11
Feisty CBC wrote:She probably called it class? And they dream of us being a city one day, not while pigs are flying by my window!
Bwanna wrote: If they are going to also sell beer (to keep them there) can they supply SKY SPORTS, we can then call it a male creche AND WE COULD ALL COME!!LOLThe other day when i was in town, I saw a young mother with baby in tow and a can of lager resting on the back of the pushchair. Now that's what I call multi-tasking :)
hughie-s
says...
7:04pm Wed 30 Mar 11
6079 Smith W
says...
8:45pm Wed 30 Mar 11
Feisty - Got to say I've never seen anything quite like what you're describing, in Colchester or anywhere else, quite extraordinary! Anyway, I tried a few different ales the other night. It's what I call multi-casking...
peachey
says...
9:37pm Wed 30 Mar 11
More News stories
- Second police vehicle involved in crash in Colchester
- Afghanistan victim Ashley faces ‘final’ operation on legs
- Teenager locked up for botched shop raid in Alresford
- BY GEORGE! DEAL OF THE DAY
- IN TODAY'S GAZETTE: Shopkeepers' fury over raids
- £1m refurbishment will see Colchester Co-op grow
- Essex: Updated: Man appeared in court charged with murder of former Essex vicar
- Colchester vicar refuses to raise the cost of weddings and funerals
- Teenagers’ endurance week raises £300 for Sport Relief
- Local Peacocks jobs safe
AndyP335 says...
10:13am Wed 30 Mar 11