Boroughwide Public Space Protection Order
Boroughwide public space protection order
Boroughwide public space protection order
Darlington Borough Council currently has a PSPO covering the Town Centre which provides powers to deal with antisocial behaviour issues that relate to the consumption of alcohol, begging and threatening behaviour in the town centre. The Council is consulting on the renewal of the order which would provide a continuation of the above powers in the town centre only.
Local partners have a range of tools and powers at their disposal to respond and manage concerns about anti-social behaviour (ASB), from measures aimed at tackling the causes of ASB, awareness-raising, signposting for support, through to enforcement.
Used proportionately and only in the right circumstances, PSPOs allow local areas to try and counter unreasonable and persistent behaviour that affects the quality of life of its residents and business. Issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) will only generally be considered when other means of addressing behaviour have not been successful.
A PSPO is not a blanket ban on certain activities in a certain area. It enables police and civic enforcement officers to deal with certain circumstances.
As part of this consultation the Council is also seeking views on the introduction of a Boroughwide PSPO that would mean the Council has specific powers across the Borough to deal with issues where evidence suggests additional powers are needed.
We are seeking views on whether the Council should have powers to deal with the following matters across all of the Borough:
Begging is an ongoing concern in the town centre but action being taken that has reduced numbers and there is evidence of displacement from the town centre into other parts of the Borough. We are seeking views on whether the Council should have powers to be able to deal with this matter across the whole Borough.
Waste must be placed for collection in a receptacle that is acceptable to the Council. The Council provides adequate receptacles to deal with normal volumes of waste from households. If residents also recycle correctly there is a potential over provision of capacity in the residual waste bin. In some locations waste is not presented correctly and this cause issues for residents and the Council. It is in the interests of the Council and residents both financially and from an environmental perspective to reduce waste generated and recycle correctly. Side waste is an ongoing issue that the Council has to manage which increase costs of services and introduces environmental issues in communities.
Stray Dogs are increasing in number. The increase is not just a Darlington issue but something that is being experienced across the region. This is placing pressure on organisations that previously worked charitably to support re-homing, but they have had to change their models to cover costs, which has been passed on the Councils. Therefore, the Council want to try and encourage more responsible behaviour. Officers will always try to encourage compliance. The inclusion of powers relating stray dogs would give enforcement officers another option in terms of how they try and manage the service. The Council would only consider the use of an FPN if engagement and warnings didn’t work.
The Cabinet report contains more details on the proposals
We would welcome your views on all of the aspects of the proposals and any experiences you have encountered so that we may consider them as part of the considerations on the introduction of a boroughwide PSPO.
Proposed PSPO details
Proposed PSPO [pdf document]
Alternatively you can complete the form below and email it to [email protected]
Public space protection order boroughwide questionnaire [pdf document]