PubWatch banning orders extend across Amber Valley

Anti-social drinkers could soon find their options of where to go to get a pint heavily limited across the whole of the Amber Valley.

From Thursday 1 June, a change in the rules is being brought in that will see those issued with a PubWatch banning order barred from all participating bars across the district.

Currently, if a banning order has been issued for someone in Ripley, for example, they are only banned from establishments within that town. However, from 1 June, that ban will be extended to cover the whole of the Amber Valley area.

Dean Munday, who runs The Crown Inn in Heanor, he says the new restrictions will make people stop and think before causing trouble: “Making the bans across the whole of the Amber Valley, people won’t be able to hop, skip and jump to the next town or village and give them problems.

“At the end of the day, we don’t want it in our houses, we want people to come in, enjoy a drink in a relaxing and comfortable area and these new extended banning orders should help us achieve that.”

The new rules apply to those banning orders issued after Thursday 1 June, any given out before that date will still apply to their relevant areas.

PC Ady Clarke is from Derbyshire Police Licensing Team: “It is a big step, but all the PubWatch members want to keep their staff and customers safe. What we were finding was individuals were getting banned from one area and then going into another area, drinking, and causing issues there. What we’re going to do is share the information among the groups so if you do get a ban, you will be banned from all the areas in the Amber Valley.

“It’s going to make the places safer for the staff as we’ve had staff being assaulted and customers being assaulted, and it tends to be the same individuals causing the issues in the different areas, so this Amber Valley-wide ban is definitely going to be beneficial to the area and making it safer for people to be drinking in.

The new banning orders come into force on Thursday 1 June and will cover all PubWatch pubs and bars in Belper, Heanor, Alfreton and Ripley.