Crackdown on public drinking

MALAGA Council has declared war on the public consumption of alcoholic beverages outside designated areas, especially after 2am, and is seeking to enforce current legislation to eradicate it.

Prompted by constant complaints from local residents who are fed up with public drinking near Plaza Mitjana, the authorities have beefed up police presence in the area at the weekends in an effort to enforce legislation and slap fines on bars which violate it.

The increased police presence on the streets near Plaza Mitjana and Uncibay last Friday and Saturday was evident and sought to act as a deterrent to people gathering on the streets to indulge in drinking alcohol.

Security Councillor Julio Andrade said: “There is a bylaw against it and we are levying fines on bars that violate it,” he said, and added that drinking alcohol outside specially designated areas is illegal.

Back in 2009, Malaga Council requested bars on Plaza de Mitjana to mark off the limits of specially designated areas on public streets in which customers could drink without breaking the law. However, it did not take long for customers to start gathering again outside of these areas.