Nottingham City Council is preparing to consult on a new Public Spaces Protection Order for the city centre after officers said the expiry of the previous order had left police and council teams with fewer powers to deal with persistent anti-social behaviour.
A delegated decision report seeks permission to begin formal consultation on a proposed new city centre PSPO, covering parts of the Castle, St Ann’s, Arboretum and Meadows wards.
The proposed order has not yet been made. If consultation is approved, residents, businesses, visitors and relevant organisations will be asked for their views before a final decision is taken by the council’s Executive Board.
The previous Nottingham city centre PSPO came into effect on 18 March 2019. It was extended twice and remained in force until 16 March 2025, when it expired. The order gave authorised council officers and police powers to deal with a range of issues in the city centre, including obstruction of building entrances, unauthorised requests for money, nuisance busking, unauthorised distribution of free material, unauthorised mobile advertising, public urination and defecation, and the regulation of Big Issue sales pitches.
The council report says the 2019 order “proved to be a valuable enforcement tool” in reducing anti-social behaviour in the city centre, and that its expiry has reduced the enforcement options available to Nottinghamshire Police and authorised council officers.
According to the report, operational feedback from local police beat teams and Neighbourhood Safety Officers indicates that the loss of the PSPO has made it more difficult to respond to repeat and persistent behaviour affecting the city centre environment.
The council says Nottinghamshire Police recorded more than 3,000 anti-social behaviour-related calls within the city centre over the past 18 months, with a significant proportion linked to nuisance behaviour, intimidation, begging and disorder associated with street-based activity.
The proposed new PSPO would reintroduce most of the restrictions contained in the previous 2019 order. These would include powers to prevent people obstructing entrances and exits to buildings, hindering council street cleansing work, or blocking the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles on highways.
The report says obstruction remains a recurring problem in high-footfall commercial areas, including people occupying shop doorways, recessed entrances, service access points and narrow pedestrian routes. Since April 2025, Neighbourhood Safety Officers have logged 78 reports relating to people occupying doorways and fire exits across the city centre.
However, the report states that the aim of this provision is not to criminalise rough sleeping. It says the focus is on associated anti-social behaviour, such as obstruction, environmental impact and behaviour that can cause alarm or distress, rather than penalising people solely because they are homeless.
The proposed order would also continue to regulate the sale of The Big Issue magazine, requiring sellers to use authorised pitches and display valid identification. The council says no formal complaints were received about Big Issue sales during the period covered by the previous order, which it attributes to the operation of the existing controls.
Restrictions on mobile advertisements would also be reintroduced, requiring written consent from the council. The report says unregulated mobile advertising, such as portable signs, boards, flags or wearable advertising, can restrict pedestrian movement, affect accessibility for wheelchair users and people with pushchairs, and add to visual clutter in busy commercial and heritage areas.
Busking would remain permitted in the city centre, but the proposed order would ban busking in prohibited locations. The council says 43 complaints since April 2025 have specifically referenced busking or buskers, with issues including excessive noise, prolonged or repetitive performances, amplification in confined spaces and disruption to business operations. The report says the intention is not to prevent busking, but to ensure it takes place in a way compatible with the safe and inclusive use of the city centre.
The unauthorised distribution of free printed material would also be covered. The report says some distributors operate responsibly, but that other activity has involved repeated and aggressive approaches to members of the public, contributed to litter and increased demands on street cleansing teams. Exemptions would remain for activity authorised by law, permit, licence or council consent, and for certain charitable, political, religious or belief-related distribution.
The proposed order would also cover unauthorised requests for money, personal items or donations. The report says these incidents are frequently associated with nuisance and intimidation in busy commercial areas, including repeated approaches to passers-by and approaches to vulnerable people. It also refers to concerns about charity collectors and social enterprise groups around areas including Clumber Street, where businesses have reported persistent or intrusive approaches affecting trade.
Public urination and defecation would continue to be prohibited under the proposed order. The report says the issue has an ongoing impact on businesses, residents, visitors and frontline staff, particularly where incidents occur in recessed doorways, walkways and less visible parts of the city centre. It refers to reports from businesses about human waste being left outside premises and says the issue creates public health, environmental and dignity concerns.
One restriction from the 2019 order would not be carried over. The previous order included a provision relating to the possession or ingestion of psychoactive substances, but the new proposal does not include it because the report says this is now regulated under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
The legal framework for PSPOs comes from the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Before making an order, the council must be satisfied that activities in a public place have had, or are likely to have, a detrimental effect on the quality of life of people in the locality, and that the effect is persistent, continuing and unreasonable enough to justify restrictions.
The council must also consult before deciding whether to make the order. This would include Nottinghamshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner, community representatives, landowners and occupiers where practicable, businesses, residents, visitors, The Big Issue Foundation, groups supporting street entertainers, charity collection organisations, groups that regularly distribute free material, and relevant support agencies.
The report proposes a four-week consultation, including an online survey, face-to-face engagement in key city centre locations, and targeted outreach to businesses through It’s in Nottingham. Although government guidance says PSPO consultations are generally expected to take no longer than two weeks, the council’s legal advice says a four-week period is considered necessary because of the number of proposed restrictions, the size of the area and the range of stakeholders affected.
Once the consultation closes, representations will be reviewed and summarised for Nottingham City Council’s Executive Board, which will decide whether the PSPO should be made. An Equality Impact Assessment will also be completed following consultation to assess whether any final order is proportionate, inclusive and compliant with the council’s equality duties.
The report says there are no financial implications from the decision to consult. If a PSPO is ultimately approved, breaches can be dealt with as a criminal offence, with fixed penalty notices available as an alternative to prosecution.
