Repeat of town centre '˜cleanse'

These people are buying cans of booze from two convenience stores in the town centre, in Queens Road opposite WH Smith and a shop just yards away from their ‘own benches’ outside Poundstretcher.

They have commandeered these benches for themselves, shoppers are hardly likely to sit nearby. In the early noughties 15 years ago, the authorities seemed to have cracked this problem and cleared this social desecration of the town centre.

We have to ask why has the problem recurred despite the zones of ‘reduce the strength’ shops which of course includes the town centre?

No-one but the police has the power to deal with this issue and the police are insisting no crimes have been committed despite the blatant and excessive consumption of alcohol in a public place.

Is that practice going to be disregarded just as the following are disregarded: pavement cycling, dope smoking in public, parking on the white zig-zags of zebra crossings?

Obviously the police and the council are stretched due to the public sector cuts but whatever measures were taken in 2001 to ‘cleanse’ the town centre must surely be given a priority and repeated.

Brian Johnson

High Street

Hastings

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