Hammered on Meadowbank
There has often been comments on here about the problem of teenagers drinking on Meadowbank, especially at weekends. I must admit that I walked through there last Friday and I saw a group of teenagers with two crates of lager heading up to one of the benches.
One of the main things that winds me up is not only are they drinking there but often they just throw their cans all over the place. I never understand this when a bin is literally sometimes about 10 feet away.
posted by The Cockerel @ 12:33 AM
3 Comments:
This also really winds me up!! The Meadowbank is a beautiful place to walk the dog, watch the world go by, feed the ducks, play footall etc. Sadly, most of the people, I encounter at the weekends and in the evenings, are hell bent on destroying this little oasis. They trash the place, by leaving all the fast food and alcoholic beverages behind them, they smash the play area up, tag it and pollute the pond by throwing in a few bottles of WKD, Smirnoff in for good measure. A*seholes!!! The same also applies to Cotsmendene, Glory Wood, The Nower etc.
Apparently, two cctv cameras have finally got permission from Mole Valley and will be installed down at the Meadowbank. Will this solve the problem? Probably not as it will just move the problem elsewhere. What the police need to do is get off their arses and patrol these troublespots on a regular basis (ie. evenings, weekends etc.) These problems have been going on for years and years. Sadly, the anti-social behaviour is much, much more destructive these days and it is a matter of time before talk surfaces about shutting / fencing off the park in the evenings.
Well, if the police cannot enforce the alcohol free zone which stretches from the town centre to the Ashcombe Road -- what hope have we got??? About six months ago, the council and the police got together and said that drinking alcohol on the street would be banned in Dorking. Swish new signs were erected. And, are the police implementing this?? Hell no. Groups of pissed youngsters still congregate in front of The White Horse, Woolworths etc. and drink openly in front of the cctv.
In other words, all this talk from the police about getting tough on anti-social behaviour, underage drinking in Dorking, the Meadowbank etc. is just talk and NO action.
According to this weeks Dorking Advertiser (Sept 21), the police and the council are at loggerheads with the alcohol free designation zone. The police want to remove all the restrictions in Dorking and the vicinity and remove the alcohol free designation order. The councillors at Mole Valley, want it to remain in force citing anti-social behaviour, underage drinking, criminal damage etc.
I side with the council on this topic and feel the police are side stepping a very important issue which affects a lot of people in Dorking. People drinking from bottles, pints in public in the town centre can be a very scary and a intimidating experience. They often act in a very loud and anti-social manner which frightens families and elderly people from coming into the town. It is also quite menacing and far too often the pint, bottle is thrown through a shop window, damages a car and often results, in a very nasty fight.
The police, must admit, that they do not have the manpower to enforce this policy. It is crazy that the police point to towns such as Guildford and Woking saying that they have greater problems with people and alcohol. Duh!!! They are much, much larger towns, with a larger concentration of pubs, clubs etc. and more people go there to drink and socialise at the weekends. Another example of the Surrey Police passing the buck and letting the general public suffer once again.
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