WEYMOUTH has been chosen by the government to host a new programme aimed at tackling drink-fuelled crime and violence which is harming the town centre.

As one of the Home Office’s Local Alcohol Action Areas (LAAA), councils, police, health bodies and others will come together with businesses to address problems caused by alcohol and make streets safer at night.

Sharing practice with other areas and receiving support from a variety of experts, it could lead to schemes being implemented that have been successful in other towns. This includes ‘club hosts’ patrolling bars to help vulnerable people, safeguarding training for taxi drivers, increased trading standards activity on underage sales of alcohol, better support for street drinkers, and even a non-alcoholic bar for teenagers.

It could also include training pub staff to spot vulnerable people, establishing ‘safe spaces’, awareness raising campaigns, and reviewing public transport.

The town centre has been blighted by violent crime and public order offences linked to drinking.

The number of crimes reported to police for the area jumped by a third for the year to the end of September compared with the same period in 2015.

Police and authorities have vowed to tackle problems and a number of schemes have already been launched to make the town safer including the Best Bar None accreditation scheme, the street pastors, and RU2Drunk breathalyser scheme. However, as reported the RU2Drunk scheme did not produce “the number of positive outcomes” it was hoped and suffered from “divided support”.

The LAAAs launched in February 2014 covering 20 areas. Weymouth has been included in the second phase of a further 33 areas which will receive ‘support and expertise’ in crime prevention, licensing and public health from the Home Office, Public Health England and Nightworks, a company that specialises in ‘diversifying the night-time economy’.

The programme will run for two years and LAAA areas will also be put in touch with mentors who have successfully tackled the issues that they face and will come together to problem solve and share best practice.

Weymouth & Portland Neighbourhood Inspector Pete Browning said: “I am really pleased that Weymouth has been successful in its bid to be part of this national scheme as part of our continuing aspiration to improve the night time economy for visitors to the town.

"The Local Alcohol Action Area (LAAA) offers a wealth of support and guidance from a variety of experts both in the industry itself and from partners that can bring learning and best practice from areas that have previously been involved in this scheme focussing on what we know works well.

“The LAAA recognises the contribution that the night time economy brings to a town but also acknowledges that there are challenges that sit alongside this that need to be tackled.

"Part of the focus will not only be to design out some of the crime aspects though the safe movement of people visiting the town but also to look at a number of ways that can diversify what is on offer in order to attract a varied custom.”

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council community safety spokesman Cllr Francis Drake: “It is good news that Weymouth has been successful in gaining Local Alcohol Action Area status.

"We are lucky to have a vibrant night-time economy, Weymouth has many excellent bars, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs. This initiative will help reduce problems associated with over-indulgence and make our town even safer.”

Sarah Newton, Minister for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism, said: "Local Alcohol Action Areas demonstrate the Government’s commitment to work with industry, police, local authorities and other partners to make our streets safer.

“Violent crimes involving alcohol have fallen over the last decade - but it is clear that alcohol misuse has a significant impact on communities across the country.

"Our pubs, bars and restaurants make a valuable contribution to our economy and our society and it is important that people are able to enjoy them without the fear of becoming a victim of crime.”

Alcohol-related crime and disorder costs an estimated £11 billion per year in England and Wales, and the Government wants to support local communities in reducing the scenes of drunkenness and violence that blight communities, particularly at night.

Elaine Hindal, Chief Executive of Drinkaware said: “Drinkaware is delighted to be a partner to the Home Office’s new Local Alcohol Action Areas. Partnership-working is crucial to tackling alcohol harm and the LAAA project has been shown to have a galvanising impact which can foster innovation.

"Drinkaware’s now nationwide scheme to tackle vulnerability in the night time economy - Drinkaware Crew - started in the Nottinghamshire LAAA and we look forward to expanding Drinkaware Crew into new areas and continuing in collaboration to develop new interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm.”

The 33 Local Alcohol Action Areas are: Barnsley, Bedfordshire, Camden, Colchester, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Doncaster, Exeter, Fareham, Hastings, Havering, Hull, Isle of Wight, Islington, Merton, Northumberland, Norwich, Nottinghamshire, Peterborough, Shropshire, Southwark, Surrey, Swansea, Swindon, Wakefield, Wandsworth, Westminster, Weston-super-Mare, Weymouth, Wirral, Wisbech, Wolverhampton and Wrexham.