Areas of West Bridgford, Edwalton and Gamston have had a PSPO in place to control street drinking
By law the arrangements have to be reviewed by the end of a three-year period – they were reviewed and left unchanged in 2019.
This means they need to be reviewed in 2022 and if approved will come into force on 2 December.
Because of the repealing of the Vagrancy Act by Government the main suggested change is to remove rough sleeping from the PSPO rules.
The proposed PSPO will seek to control the following incidents or behaviours:
• Refusal to cease drinking alcohol in a designated area.
• Refusal to remove any items left or believed to be left on land when required
to do so by an authorised officer.
• Refusal to leave the location specified when given a direction to do so by an
authorised officer.
• Begging.
• Spitting, urinating, or defecating on land or street furniture.
In addition, the new PSPO proposals add to new ares to the order, Lyme Park Pond and Broadstone Close Pond in Compton Acres.
Failure to abide by the Order may result in the issue of a fixed penalty of £100 with an early repayment reduction to £75, which if not paid in 14 days may result in prosecution (maximum fine £1000 for most offences).
The PSPO has the support of Rushcliffe’s Police Inspector and the office of the PCC for Nottinghamshire.
It’s important to note that there have been no fixed penalty notices issued since the original PSPO was brought into force in 2017.
However, the presence of a PSPO has been considered as a useful deterrent to anti-social behaviours during this time, most notably during the pandemic within and around Bridgford Park.
A report published by the council in advance of a full council meeting on 1 December recommends the plans for approval.
A summary of incidents dealt with under the PSPO are summarised below:
Incidents
01/04/2020 – Male refusing to move on, coughing and being disruptive 03/05/2020 – Reports of people drinking/urinating on Central Avenue 07/05/2020 – Male begging on the Avenue
20/07/2020 – Female begging for money outside News and Cards 14/08/2020 – Drug dealing on park bench
16/07/2020 – Male begging outside Boots
09/08/2020 – Homeless male outside Boots
23/04/2020 – Abusive male on Central Avenue
04/06/2020 – Homeless male being abusive
24/06/2020 – Large group in Bridgford Park drinking/swearing 13/07/2020 – Busker on Central Avenue
31/10/2020 – People setting off fireworks on Central Avenue 25/07/2020 – Reports of aggressive begging
29/09/2020 – Report of female swearing on Central Avenue 05/10/2020 – Reports of begging
24/10/2020 – Male being abusive to staff at Café Nero 17/12/2020 – People drinking on a bench on Central Avenue 24/12/2020 – People drinking in the street
23/01/2021 – Report of homeless people trying doors 23/02/2021 – Reports of begging outside M&S
04/06/2021 – People on a bench drinking, swearing
14/07/2021 – Homeless male being abusive, threating to urinate 19/07/2021 – Reports of aggressive begging
PSPO review
22/07/2021 – Reports of males injecting drugs on Central Avenue 28/07/2021 – Littering
14/09/2021 – Reports of begging and sleeping in front of Hairscene 22/09/2021 – Reports of begging in sleeping bags, in alleys 18/10/2021 – Homeless male chasing females
30/11/2021 – Homeless male in a restaurant causing issues
25/01/2022 – Homeless male causing nuisance in bars along Central Avenue 06/02/2022 – Homeless male being abusive
14/06/2022 – Homeless male shouting, causing a disturbance
11/07/2022 – Homeless male causing issues, making threats
23/08/2022 – Group of males on the park causing ASB
31/08/2022 – Homeless male asleep on the floor
