People often believe that they are not permitted to drink any alcohol at all in these Alcohol Designated Area on St Mary's, and this just is not true.
You ARE able to drink alcohol in these areas, at any time of the day or night, in any quantity you like BUT...the Police reserve the right to confiscate your alcohol at any time if they deem you to be a nuisance, or a potential problem. Put simply, if you drink responsibly then this piece of legislation will have no impact on you whatsoever. But it WILL have an impact on those drinking irresponsibly, and such issues as noise nuisance, aggressive behaviour and littering can be dealt with immediately by removing their alcohol from the area.
The powers to create such an area come from Section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, details of which can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/home-office-circulars/circulars-2007/013-2007/
Failure to surrender alcohol to the police, when asked, can result in arrest. This also includes alcohol in sealed containers, not just the alcohol being imbibed at the time.
A fuller description of the measures is here Opens in a new window as well as a full colour map Opens in a new windowof the designated places. We encourage you to download and print these two pages and show them to any visitors or temporary staff coming to St Mary's. If you let holiday accommodation, it may be wise to put these pages in your welcome packs.
