At a recent meeting of Leeds City Council's Inner North West Area Committee, councillors voted to exclude Woodhouse Moor from a Designated Public Places Order that would have protected the park from alcohol-related nuisance.
Designated Public Places Orders or DPPOs allow the police to tackle antisocial behaviour related to alcohol by confiscating alcohol from anyone drinking who is causing a nuisance. DPPOs are not alcohol bans, so a DPPO on the Moor would affect no one
who is drinking sensibly and not causing trouble.
Councillors decided to exclude the Moor, and the other areas in the Ward, despite a petition from over 600 people asking for the Moor and the other areas to be included. The councillors who voted to exclude the Moor are: Kabeer Hussain, James Monaghan, Jamie Matthews, Ben Chastney, Martin Hamilton, Sue Bentley, Judith Chapman and Penny Ewens.
Councillors Bernard Atha and John Illingworth spoke strongly for the inclusion of Woodhouse Moor. A big thank you to both of them for this and for all they have done and are doing to protect the parks and areas of Leeds.
Their colleague, Coun Lucinda Yeadon, also voted to include the Moor.
Of the three Hyde Park and Woodhouse councillors, only Linda Rhodes-Clayton bravely kept her promises to residents and voted for inclusion of all the park and play areas in the ward.
Legislation
It is worth repeating that a DPPO is not an alcohol ban, despite Leeds City Council's many statements to the contrary and recent articles in the YEP. Anyone drinking sensibly in a park on a hot day would be completely unaffected. There is currently no legislation which can ban drinking in public places. A drinks ban on Woodhouse Moor is an impossibility under UK law.
JANET BAILEY, Chair, DPPO Consultative Committee
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