• FROM MAY 25, 2006

LATE-NIGHT crime in Kingston was down six months after 24-hour-drinking was introduced in the town centre.

In fact, town centre groups claimed victory against drink-fuelled disturbances after the Licensing Act “catalysed” authorities to work together better.

Violent crime in the Grove ward, Kingston town centre, dropped by a third for the period of November 24, 2005 to April 12, 2006 compared to the previous year’s figures. Exactly six months before, the act gave pubs, clubs and bars the option to serve alcohol up to 24 hours a day.

There were predictions of drink-fuelled disturbances lasting late into the night. But according to town centre management, publicans, police and council workers, the fall in violence was a result of a network of trouble-busting schemes in Kingston.

A police spokesman said: “The significant decrease in disorder is evidence that Kingston town centre is now a more controlled environment particularly at dispersal time.”

The Pub Watch radio network of bar and club managers led to more vigilance and communication between pub and club door staff and police.

Town centre manager Graham McNally said: “A lot of people weren’t terribly happy with the act, but in the event it acted as a catalyst. The police, local authority, public carriage office, Transport for London and ourselves formed a focus group and worked closely.”

But residents’ views were mixed. Alec Bilney from the Mill Street Residents Association said: “Things aren’t anywhere near as bad as we thought they would be, but they haven’t got any better. We still face the same problems of raucous crowds at night.”

Woodside Road resident Caroline Scantlebury, a member of the Canbury and Riverside Association, said that noise was still a problem but she has not yet noticed a major change.

She said: “We may feel the effects of it more in the summer. People tend to stay out later then and you often hear people along the river.”

Malcolm Grosvenor from the Federation of Kingston Residents Associations, which took out a full page advertisement in the Surrey Comet the previous year warning against late-night drinking, said: “Residents are bracing themselves for the worsening consequences of late-night drinking in the warm summer months. Too many Kingston residents have routinely suffered sleepless nights due to noise, vandalism and fighting.

“Just a few more police officers on the streets and even fewer additional late-night buses will do no more than pay lip service to the problems.”

  • FROM MAY 24, 2006

Thames Water bosses denied they had seriously considered dragging icebergs up the Thames to tackle water shortages in Kingston and surrounding areas. A spokesman said: “The icebergs idea has not been implemented anywhere in the world. We have no plans to pursue it here. The same applies to other more extreme theoretical solutions, such as seeding rain clouds.”

  • FROM MAY 24, 1991

There were calls to ban pit-bulls, Japanese tosas and rottweilers from all Kingston parks. Kingston councillors asked for sweeping powers that would mean they could ban certain breeds after a spate of attacks. Cllr Jeff Hanna told the leisure committee: “Let’s give a clear message to the people of this borough that certain types of dogs aren’t welcome in our parks.”

  • FROM MAY 25, 1966

The need for a continual fight against pornographic literature and “filthy films” was emphasised at a meeting in Surbiton. Catholics descended on Claremont Hall to hear Streatham councillor Edward De Courville talk about sexual imagery “poisoning young minds”. He also said Catholics let an environment where “everything was run by communists” happen by not protesting enough.