The order will result in South Yorkshire Police having greater discretionary enforcement powers to combat the nuisance, annoyance and anti-social behaviour which can be associated with the public drinking of alcohol.
The order provides police officers with discretionary powers to target those people drinking within the designated area who are behaving anti-socially and would make it an offence to continue drinking if asked to stop doing so by a police officer.
Officers can then seize any opened or unopened container that they consider to contain alcohol. Failure without reasonable excuse to comply with the officer's request is a criminal offence. Penalties for this offence include arrest and a fine up to £500.
The move would extend the orders that are in place in Rotherham and Wath town centres to cover most of the urban conurbations and surrounding areas in the borough and would make it easier for Police to enforce the law and
help to prevent problem street drinking moving from one public area to another.
Rotherham Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods, Coun. Rose McNeely, said:"Rotherham is a beautiful place and a great place to live and we want to help keep it that way.
"The Community Safety Partnership is working hard to tackle alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour and a number of initiatives are underway which are proving to be very effective.
"The proposed order aims to help people feel safe where they live, reduce anti-social behaviour and improve the quality of life in our communities."
The council's Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Manager Steve Parry added: "This type of order is not about banning alcohol from public places, it is about giving the police the power to take early action where they consider that the possession and drinking of the alcohol is contributing to anti-social behaviour and spoiling things for everyone else.
"Rotherham is a much safer place than most similar boroughs and we will do everything we can to keep it that way."
Maps and associated information showing the proposed designated area are available on the RMBC Council's website and at Reresby House, Bow Bridge Close, Rotherham, S60 1BY, during normal office hours.
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