Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has agreed to move forward with an order which would see drinking alcohol banned in Biddulph town centre.

Biddulph Nub News reported recently how the council's Community Overview & Scrutiny Committee was due to meet to discuss the ban.

The committee met last night (Monday) and agreed to move forward with the plans. The proposals will now need to be put to consultation and brought back to the authority's Cabinet for final approval, due to be made at a meeting on Tuesday next week (9 January).

The Public Spaces Protection Order would apply to Biddulph town centre, as well as the town centres in Cheadle and Leek.

The order, which would prohibit consuming alcohol or carrying an unsealed container of alcohol in any of the three town centres, has been recommended for approval in an effort to combat anti-social behaviour in the towns.

A Public Spaces Protection Order was already implemented in Biddulph in 2017, which empowered a constable or authorised person to require a person to stop drinking alcohol or confiscate their alcohol, but this order expired in November 2020.

Once the order receives the final approval by Cabinet it would last for a maximum of three years.

The consumption of alcohol would still be permitted on licensed premises and clubs within the town centre, and areas within their curtilage.

Anyone who refused to comply with the order would be committing an offence, which they could be fined for.

To watch the latest meeting in full, visit the district council's website here.