TOWN Hall chiefs in Bournemouth are planning to "beef up" licensing policy to clamp down on antisocial behaviour in the town.

The current policy came into force in 2005 and is supposed to be reviewed every three years. But with the change of regime at the council earlier this year, the Conservatives want to make their mark.

Principal licensing officer Steve Wright told an overview board meeting that what was being proposed would be "radically different", although details would not be revealed until later in the year. There would then be 12 weeks of public consultation before a council vote next April.

Council leader Cllr Stephen Macloughlin told councillors: "We don't want binge drinking. What we don't want is irresponsible licensees. What we've been looking at is to beef up the licensing policy of this council to make sure premises catch up with what is happening in the town."

He stressed that the council was keen to work with licensees. "We want to provide a safe environment for people to enjoy themselves, have fun, but not act antisocially," he said.

Cllr Macloughlin said later that the policy could include more guarantees that door staff were properly trained, tougher policies on the number of people allowed into venues, more CCTV on doors and better arrangements to deal with litter.

"We want Bournemouth to be a place where residents and visitors can come to have fun, behave responsibly and enjoy themselves in a safe environment. We don't want the image Bournemouth earned itself of pubs and clubs and a night-time economy which at times was difficult to manage," he said.

Cllr Richard Smith raised the issue of the lack of bins around night cafes and takeaways, and said litter problems had worsened since the smoking ban, with cigarette butts "strewn" along streets.

"It seems takeaway owners are not taking on board their responsibility. It's yet another expense that falls on us," he said.

"We shouldn't be subsidising private sector organisations. They generate waste and it's about time they paid for clearing up the mess."

Cllr Roger West called for better enforcement of licensing conditions. "We're not insisting that noise is kept within premises. You can go down Old Christchurch Road and there are doors wide open," he claimed.