Published: Thursday, 4th February, 2010 6:00am

About-turn on public drinking bylaws

by David McCann

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NORTH Berwick's liberal on-street boozing laws will be preserved after town leaders defied police pressure to introduce a blanket ban.

Last June, police inspector Ian Mackay urged North Berwick community chiefs to bring the town's public drinking hours - set at 6am-6pm daily - in line with the 'zero tolerance' approach adopted in the majority of the county.

At the time Inspector Mackay claimed the town's unique drinking restrictions were "confusing" to the general public.

However, a motion to harmonise the outdoor drinking bylaw - and passed by four votes last July - was overturned after community councillors reopened the subject for debate.

Last week they chose to throw out the proposal saying the current constraints worked "perfectly well".

Pat Burton, chair of the town watchdog group, said: "We do not want draconian laws or to give sweeping powers to the police, not because we do not trust them but because if we give them [more powers] we do not know how they will use them.

"We may have some [police officers] who are responsible [in the way they apply the bylaw] and some who go by the letter."

Ian Donald, the departing liaison officer from the town's business association, said traders wanted to retain the status quo.

"It has worked perfectly well up to now," he said. "I do not see any reason to change it and the police have not given good reasons to change it."

It was acknowledged that cases of antisocial behaviour occurred most often in the evening when the town's existing bylaws were already enforceable.