Vomit, pizza boxes and human waste - is Middlesbrough's clampdown on takeaways and booze working?

CUMULATIVE Impact Zones won’t mean much to most.

But why they exist probably does.

The policy in Middlesbrough town centre has made it harder for takeaways to open up between 11pm and 5am.

The zones also aim to make booze licences more difficult to come by to reduce the amount of trouble Cleveland Police deals with on a night, improve the health of central ward residents and tackle litter.

They’ve been on Teesside since 2005 but views vary in Middlesbrough over whether they’ve delivered results.

Skinnergate Cycles, formerly Bobby’s Cycles, on Corporation Road, is no stranger to the odd rogue.

There have been a couple of break-ins in the past year and a half.

It was hit by thieves last month but fortunately they got the bike back.

Staff member Elvis Consborough says he’s seen fighting in the street but not an awful lot of trouble at the northern end of the town centre.

“By their own admission, police tend not to come up this end of town as it is quieter,” he adds.

“They’re in demand at the bottom end of town – it’s not their fault.”

A customer from Longlands, who did not wish to be named, thought things had “quietened down” in the past 10 years.

Further along Corporation Road is the Londis store where Cumulative Impact Zones came into play earlier this year.

The council granted a premises licence in the end but it made sure strong cider couldn’t be sold.

And north of the bus station, complaints from businesses are more to do with cigarette butts and the odd pizza box when they come in to open up.

Shopkeepers are usually gone by the time revellers file in.

One business owner said he’d had to sweep up on some mornings to unblock his drains – but he’d locked up and gone home before any night-time bother.

Ian Hodgson has been a butcher for 42 years at Teesside Ships Butcher and Sausage Specialist on Harris Street.

He says he’s had little trouble as it is set back from the main centre.

But a Westwood Close resident, who did not wish to be named, isn’t a fan of the number of bars opening up.

“In my day they’d shut at 10pm but now they’re open until 3am,” she adds.

“This is why there is trouble – I think it’s bad and it’s got worse.”

The Cumulative Impact Policy was introduced 13 years ago and was reviewed for the council’s 2017-2022 licensing policy.

Councillors decided to keep it.

The zones is bound by Southfield Road, Diamond Road, Hartington Road, Wilson Street, Bridge Street West and Abingdon Road.

It also applies to off-licensed premises in Central, Newport, Park, Longlands and Beechwood and North Ormesby wards.

The policy report says the town centre has changed and it has.

There are fewer nightclubs and more micro pubs and bars, particularly in Albert Road and Wilson Street.

Southfield Road is “anecdotally” cited in the council report as attracting older drinkers alongside students.

All well and good. But the licensing paper still points to more than quarter of all takeaways, pubs and clubs in the borough squeezed in a “small area of the town”.

You can’t miss this as you move into the heart of Middlesbrough.

Fu Jia, manager of Yig, on Borough Road, says he’s had the odd drunk customer come in but “only occasionally”.

He adds: “It’s only a Chinese shop so they tend not to know what’s here – sometimes there will be some mess outside but it’s acceptable.”

It’s on Linthorpe Road and Southfield Road where shop-owners are more vocal.

Christine Willoughby has worked at Agness Marshall Florist for the past 38 years.

The shop is flanked by takeaways and the 54-year-old says staff clean up sick and mess outside the front door on most days.

Ms Willoughby adds: “It’s been about the same for a while.

“I know they have cut the number of road sweepers because our path gets cleaned once every three months.

“I think Middlesbrough has got to saturation point with takeaways – especially on this road.

“The bin outside is the only one on this block – I started in 1980 and now all the little independent shops have gone.”

When it came to restrictions on licensing, Ms Willoughby thinks it’s “too late” and isn’t pleased with the amount of free parking available elsewhere in the borough.

She adds: “They’ve killed this part of Middlesbrough – same as they did with Redcar.”

A charity worker within the impact zone, who did not wish to named, also tells of the plastic detritus which blows onto their property.

She says: “The impact of all the takeaways is a huge amount of litter, glass bottles and rubbish. The council sweep the streets but it still impacts on private property owners and people like ourselves.”

The worker also says she’s come across containers with what appeared to be human waste in them.

She adds: “People have got to make a living and it’s difficult to see what we can do.

“Once you have allowed these things, it’s very difficult to turn the clock back – perhaps the council should be more active in terms of the specification they have in terms of dealing with rubbish.

“It’s no good saying it unless something is to be done.”

Like most things, a balance is to be struck.

Authorities are keen to ensure the offer of a night-time economy – keeping small businesses open, successful and, crucially, ensuring rates are paid.

But on the other side of the coin is the clean up cost of a heavy night out and the number of police call outs to the town centre which have tipped the balance in favour of keeping the zoning policy.

What is clear is litter still plagues some.

The other part of the council’s licensing document relates to selling alcohol.

The paper directly links the number of off-licences rising in the borough with the increase of crime, anti-social behaviour and hospital admissions attributable to alcohol.

It also points to the increase in off-licences in the borough – up from 94 in 2005 to 141 in 2015 – and says it is having a “negative impact” on crime and disorder.

The report adds: “Whilst maintaining public health is not a licensing objective, many of the hospital admissions arise from alcohol related crime and disorder.”

Existing bars are a bugbear to some.

Christine Innes has lived in her terraced home in Middlesbrough for the past nine years.

She doesn’t believe licensing is working – pointing to the bar over the road and telling of the noise she experienced at night.

Ms Innes says: “They leave rubbish out for weeks and they have music on loud at night – sometimes until 2.30am.”

Vaishnavi Sritharan and her family see the debate from both sides.

The family relies on their off-licence to make a living.

But Ms Sritharan’s father has had to deal with troublesome youths pouring Coke on the windows of his Grange Road store – as well as threats of violence.

Coupled with this, is how the store has been unable to get a licence to sell booze beyond 9pm – something Ms Sritharan says makes it harder to compete with other nearby shops.

Ms Sritharan adds: “We have had this shop for a couple of years – we’ve tried to extend the hours but that was when we first took over.

“They said give it time – we’re thinking about trying again in future but we don’t know.

“We’ve had so many kids causing problems and they’re getting worse – a kid poured coke over the windows and my dad chased after them. They got their cousin who threatened to smash the shop up.

“So I do feel anti-social behaviour has increased – especially among the younger generation. But we get as much trouble as we would anywhere else.”

The Cumulative Impact policy doesn’t mean a blanket ban on getting a licence for either a late night hot food takeaway or a booze licence.

If it can be shown it doesn’t add to the “cumulative impact” of litter, anti-social behaviour and crime – the green light can still come.

Central ward member Matthew Storey believes there is a “balance” to be struck.

Cllr Storey says: “Our view as ward councillors generally speaking is we know that there is a great of licensed properties, whether it’s off licences or hot food takeaways, and our ward has pretty poor public health outcomes in terms of obesity and issues with alcohol.

“As ward councillors we think it’s our duty to take that into account when making decision – we’ve objected to several licences, on alcohol in particular, because we understand the public health impacts on local people and the issues this can lead to.”

Teesside councils – like many local authorities nationwide – are getting wise to the mechanisms they have at their disposal to try and prevent certain establishments either setting up shop in the first place or flouting pre-agreed conditions.

Cllr Storey says the council has a more restrictive policy to make sure the “right kind” of pubs and the right licences are in the right places to make sure the ward had “as health a population as possible”.

Rallies against “vertical drinking establishments” – where people stand up to have a late night tipple – were very much in vogue 10 to 12 years ago.

But numbers of such bars and clubs have declined since and the focus has shifted more onto off-licences.

Cllr Storey adds: “If you look around the town centre in terms of businesses, I do not think anyone can say the council has a record of holding back local businesses – you only have to look at the number of restaurants and bars that have opened up in the town centre – it’s thriving.

“And if you look around the town centre we are not short of off-licences – we have to try and strike a balance.

“I don’t think businesses have a tough time growing and developing and as ward councillors we have a responsibility over and above making sure we expand and we need to make sure people’s health needs are met.”

On litter and looking after the environment, Cllr Storey tells me he and his ward colleagues are “regularly putting in requests” for flytipping to be tidied away.

“We do regular walkabouts with the environmental department to pick up issues – these things get picked up as best we can as we are always out and about,” he adds.

“As you would expect, businesses do have responsibility – they have a responsibility to make sure the front of their business is kept tidy.

“Budgets are stretched and where people can do things themselves that’s useful.

“When it got snowy last year I was out assisting elderly people and putting grit out so we’re trying to help people where we can.

“But I’d reiterate if they do have problems in terms of issues with flytipping or environmental health, they can get in touch with us as councillors as residents or businesses.

“I prefer my phone ringing more often.”

To report a problem, go to: https://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/environment-and-public-protection/report-proble