Alcohol-related ambulance calls in Borough & Bankside up 30%

Next week Southwark's licensing committee is due to approve the retention of the cumulative impact policy or 'saturation zone' which puts the onus on applicants for new alcohol licences to prove that their operations won't have a negative impact on the local community.

The Borough & Bankside cumulative impact policy was introduced in 2009 and extended in 2011.

The policy covers the area between the borough border in the west and Bermondsey Street in the east. The southern boundary follows Westminster Bridge Road, Borough Road, Borough High Street, Long Lane, Crosby Row and Snowsfields.

There are nearly 250 licensed premises in the area.

The latest statistics show that the number of alcohol-related ambulance call outs in Borough & Bankside rose steeply between 2012 and 2013, with an increase of 30 per cent.

Across the borough, the increase was just 9 per cent.

Alcohol-related ambulance calls in the saturation area are concentrated around the junction of Borough High Street and Southwark Street.

The number of calls to police about antisocial behaviour in the area showed a slight fall from 633 to 593.

After a sharp fall in late-night alcohol-related violence in 2012, the latest figures show an 8 per cent increase in the number of incidents from 106 to 115.

Using the Home Office calculations, it is estimated that in 2013 alcohol-related violent crime in the Borough & Bankside saturation area cost £1,214,922, an increase of £93,243 from 2012 estimates.