Agenda item

Extension of the Public Spaces Protection Order - Kettering Town Centre

Decision:

KEY DECISION

That the Executive:

a) Approved an extension to the Public Spaces Protection Act (PSPO) for Kettering town centre, with the draft order set out at Appendix A of the report.

b) Delegated authority to the Executive Member Housing, Communities and Levelling-Up in liaison with the Executive Director for Adults, Communities and Wellbeing, to make any further amendments required to implement the Public Spaces Protection Order for Kettering town centre

Reason for Recommendations: To give authorised officers the ability to continue to use enforcement powers under the PSPO to respond to anti-social behaviour within Kettering town centre. Additional recommendation (b) will allow the Executive Member and Executive Director to make minor amendments to wording of the order to ensure it accurately reflects approved prohibitions.

Alternative Options Considered:

a) Discontinue with the PSPO – this would have a negative impact on the ability to tackle activities in a public place that causes nuisance, crime and anti-social behaviour.

b) Extend the PSPO based on no changes to the current prohibitions – this would effectively ignore the issues and comments raised by the public and partner agencies as part of the consultation.

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Cllr Clark Mitchell from Kettering Town Council to address the Executive. Cllr Mitchell spoke in support of the proposed new wording in the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for Kettering Town Centre that removed perceived discrimination relating to minors and skateboarders, referencing the support of the public and town council following the consultation process.

The Chair thanked Cllr Mitchell for his comments before inviting Cllr Dorothy Maxwell to address the meeting. Cllr Maxwell spoke in support of PSPOs in protecting town centres from anti-social behaviour and queried whether such an order could be imposed in towns in the former East Northants area.

Cllr Matt Binley, Executive Member for Housing, Communities and Levelling Up then introduced a report that requested the Executive consider and approve the extension of a Public Spaces Protection Order covering the town centre of Kettering. In response to Cllr Maxwell’s comments, Cllr Binley was noted that PSPOs could only be made based on significant evidence of anti-social behaviour and undergo a significant public consultation period before they could be made.

The meeting heard that the PSPO covering Kettering town centre had initially been made in July 2016, with an extension approved in 2019. The purpose of the PSPO was to impact specific types of anti-social behaviour that affected the defined area covered by the order.

The current terms of the PSPO had been reviewed and widely consulted upon, with a revised list of prohibitions recommended in line with the consultation outcomes, specifically the removal of the blanket skateboarding prohibition and the requirements for under 18-year-olds to leave the prohibited area between the hours of 11pm and 6am. Skateboarders, cyclists and other wheeled conveyance were still covered in the PSPO if used in a manner likely to cause nuisance, alarm or distress. It was anticipated that these alterations would offer the best possible outcomes for residents and town centre users.

Due to the need to make minor corrective amendments to the PSPO document before implementation, an additional recommendation was proposed, as set out at resolution b) below.

RESOLVED: