People in Banbury are being invited to share their views on anti-social behaviour in a recently launched consultation from Cherwell District Council and Thames Valley Police (TVP).
Published: Friday, 24th March 2023
The consultation has been opened to give people the opportunity to have their say on a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order which will prohibit harmful street drinking and begging.
Running across four weeks the consultation will take place online in the form of a survey and will close on 14 April.
A Public Spaces Protection Order will provide the council’s community wardens and police with further powers to tackle anti-social behaviour through issuing warnings and providing information about where people can access support. Repeated behaviour will lead to a breach of the order and matters escalated.
Councillor Eddie Reeves, Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities, said: “Banbury is full of vibrant and bustling places that have welcoming communities and plenty of opportunities to socialise. It is vital that everyone feels able to safely use public areas to be able to meet friends and family, socialise and shop. Sadly, we’ve seen the behaviour of a small number of people causing people’s experiences to be impacted negatively which has also damaged the reputation of our wonderful town.
“We found that the previous PSPO acted as a useful deterrent and provided our community wardens and TVP officers extra powers to tackle behaviour that could cause alarm or distress. The previous PSPO has now come to an end and we want to continue the good work by proposing a new PSPO in Banbury.”
Under the proposals, officers will be able to issue fixed penalty notices for behaviours which don’t meet the thresholds or legal requirements for other formal action.
Restricted activities include loitering linked to antisocial behaviour, aggressive begging and nuisance street drinking.
The council would also be able to utilise warning signs to promote the restrictions and raise public awareness of the standards of behaviour that are expected in Banbury.
Cllr Reeves added: “We encourage residents, businesses and regular visitors to Banbury to take part in our consultation and share their views so that we can ensure that we continue to approach antisocial behaviour in the best way that benefits the community.”
Community wardens and TVP officers are present within the community and always on hand to support the public whilst they are out and about on their rounds. Members of the public are invited to speak with them to find out more about the consultation and ask any questions that they may have. Officers will have flyers with a QR code, allowing easy access to the consultation via a smart phone. A paper version of the consultation is also available.
The online consultation can be accessed via Let’s Talk Cherwell’s website, letstalk.cherwell.gov.uk