Restrictions banning the sale of alcohol in the early hours of the morning could be introduced in Northampton.
Members of Northampton Borough Council’s licensing committee considered the move during a meeting on Monday evening.
Licensing committee member, Councillor Sally Beardsowrth (Lib Dem, Kingsthorpe) said she believed the move was needed after seeing the levels of drunken behaviour in the town centre at weekends,
She said: “I’ve been out in Bridge Street with the police at 3am and it’s frightening.
“I saw people who were drunk who were attacking their own friends, they wanted to kill each other. It’s scary.”
Some bar and pub owners have warned the council that any curb on early morning sales could lead to some bars and night clubs closing down.
But Councillors agreed the authority should look into the possibility of bringing in blanket restrictions on trading hours.
Councillor Terry Wire (Lab, St James) said: “None of us like to see our town centre ravaged in the early hours of the morning with people throwing up in the drains, but a lot of premises could be affected by this change, so this is something we’ve got to think about carefully.”
Under new laws, the council can restrict the sale of alcohol in areas where there are crime or disorder problems.
Restrictions could be enforced any time between midnight and 6am and all licenced premises would have to abide by the new rules.
Council officers will now look at where restrictions could be brought in in Northampton, what hours they could run from and on what days.
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