Plans to improve city at nighttime

Wakefield Council’s Communities and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee will meet on Wednesday to hear a report on plans to manage the night time economy and deal with the challenges it poses.

Members will be asked to approve 11 recommendations to help make the district safer.

A report to the meeting said: “Two separate night time economies exist, early evening and late/early morning. Challenges associated with this include alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related harms, open drug dealing, begging, traffic management, street cleaning and developing a safe and diverse night time offer.”

The recommendations include getting The Community Safety Partnership to lobby the Home Office to introduce a national definition of alcohol-related crime so that this can be managed effectively and improving the sharing and use of data between police, the council and Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust when alcohol could be a factor in assault injuries.

Other techniques to deal with the challenges include supporting police to tackle crime and disorder at night; supporting the Best Bar None scheme, which promotes responsible operation and management of alcohol licensed premises; backing the Street Pastor scheme to help people who have drunk too much; and developing a strategy to combat aggressive begging.