Agenda item

Purpose of Report

To brief the Executive in the process and consideration given to date, to extend an existing Public Space Protection Order at Lucy Tower Multi-Storey Carpark,Broadgate Multi-Storey Carpark and Lincoln CentralMulti-Storey Carpark.

To seek the views of the Executive on proposals regarding the extension of the existing Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

Decision

That the proposal to extend the current PSPO without any variations to the prohibitions or location be approved.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

To extend and vary the PSPO to reword the prohibitions and/or change the geographical area.

To not extend the existing PSPO.

Reason for Decision

In October 2014 the Secretary of State enacted new powers from the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, relevant to tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. These powers also made changes to some of the relevant existing legislation and the Council was required, within the period of three years, to reconsider its Designated Public Place Orders (DPPOs) and either withdraw or replace them with new Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).

PSPO’s were flexible and could be applied to a much broader range of issues, with local authorities having the ability to design and implement their own prohibitions or requirements where certain conditions were met. These conditions centred on the impact to the quality of life in the locality, persistence, and whether the impact made the behaviour unreasonable.

In September 2020 Executive approved the implementation of a PSPO covering Lucy Tower, Broadgate and Lincoln Central Multi-Storey Carparks.

A PSPO had a maximum duration of 3 years. It was therefore time to review the order to determine whether it should be subject to extension or variation. As part of the review, the views of both the public and relevant partner agencies had been sought, by way of a public and partner consultation, this consultation had also been published on social media for greater reach.

Feedback from partners including Lincolnshire Police, the CCTV team and from the Car Parking team was that the PSPO remained a useful tool.

It was important to recognise that this PSPO was an effective deterrent, and the feedback suggested that colleagues and partners found it a very useful tool for engaging with individuals and moving individuals on.

Data extracted from CCTV records showed that during the three years prior to the implementation of the PSPO there were 107 reported incidents of drug related ASB in the three car parks. Since the PSPO had been in effect, there has 35 reported incidents of drug related ASB in the three car parks. The data showed a drop in public order incidents but still showed one hundred and fifty incidents across the three car parks during the past three years.

The PSPO gave Police and Council staff the ability to move individuals away from the car parks if they were engaging in any of the prohibited activity noted on the PSPO. The fact that there had still been one hundred and fifty noted public order incident demonstrated that the PSPO was still needed as a useful tool to tackle ongoing issues at the three locations.