'Ban booze to stop unruly kids'

An Age-Old anti-booze agreement must be enforced to end underage drinking and abusive behaviour, according to Eltham residents.

Hundreds living on the Corbett Estate have signed a petition supporting a covenant that bans the sale of alcohol on land in the area.

Homeowners say vandalism and teenage binge-drinking has rocketed since off-licences opened on the estate over the past year.

Covenants are an old form of private planning control in which restrictions are placed on how a piece of land is developed. However, they are a discretionary law only enforceable by a court injunction.

The agreement is about 70-yearsold and part of deeds on all properties. It was created by former MP and Greenwich landowner Cameron Corbett and is the reason why there are no pubs or clubs in the area.

Ward councillor Dermot Poston said: "There are enormous gatherings of kids making a nuisance of themselves - riding motorbikes without helmets, drinking and vandalising cars.

"Residents are up in arms. Many have suffered when these children have been drinking. In some cases they are totally blotto."

Greenvale Road resident Steve Mann said: "It's very bad actually.

"You see groups of kids hanging around street corners nearly every day.

"Before those off-licences opened, the Westmount Road area was a quiet residential road."

But drinks retailers in the area strongly denied the claims.

A shopworker from Costcutters told The Mercury that management was very strict about who the shop sold alcohol to.

And spokesmen for Thresher and Gill's off-licence said their stores did not sell alcohol to anyone underage.

Mr Mann said Greenwich council should invoke the Corbett agreement.

He said: "I pay my council tax along with thousands of others. What's the council there for if not to represent people?"

But a council spokesman said the authority had no power to enforce the covenant and licensing issues had nothing to do with the agreement.

A police spokesman said there had not been a noticeable rise in reported crime on Corbett.

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