Public Space Protection Order Renewal in Burnley Town Centre

Sep 13, 2019

In July the information below about the town centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was sent out to companies registered with the Burnley BID.

Only a limited response has been received by the council, however in our conversations with businesses in the town centre a number of issues that this seeks to manage continue to persist suggesting a need for the PSPO to be continued or modified.

If your business has views on anti social behaviour within the town relevant to the Public Space Protection Order it is important to review the information below and provide a response against the three questions below by Friday 20th September. 

The current PSPO  is due for renewal  in November 2019, and Burnley Council is seeking views from town centre businesses  on the following three points by Friday 20th September:

  1. Are the current prohibitions appropriate and proportional?
  2. Should Burnley Borough Council add/remove or amend any  prohibitions?
  3. Should Burnley Borough Council renew the PSPO? 

To provide your response, please email  Richard Brown  via [email protected] and copy the [email protected]email account so that we are aware of companies view for our own work relating to ASB management.

The Burnley BID steering group met on Monday of this week, and received a presentation from the Burnley Borough Council senior management lead on anti social behaviour. ASB management is a key priority for the planned Business Improvement District, and accordingly the BID steering group will also make a formal response.

BELOW – COPY OF INFORMATION RELEASED IN JULY 2019
The Public Space Protection Order for  Burnley Town Centre  is due for renewal in November 2019, if you have views on the current PSPO (see below) please contact Richard Brown at Burnley Council (details at the bottom of this email).  
Background.
Using powers brought in as part of the Police, Crime and ASB Act 2014 Burnley Council established a town centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle various forms of anti-social behaviour.
The PSPO contains the following prohibitions:
a) Begging on the Street.
Any person on a street in the Prohibition Area is prohibited from, at any time, placing themselves in a position to beg or solicit money.
b) Those under 16 in the area 11pm – 5am
Any person in the Prohibition Area between the hours of 11pm and 5am, being unable to provide evidence that they are over the age of 16, must be accompanied by a responsible adult. If unaccompanied that person must leave the Prohibition Area immediately after being required to do so by an Authorised Officer unless their place of residence is within the Prohibition Area, in which case they must return there.
c) Misuse of skateboards, bicycles and scooters.
No person shall, at any time, use a skateboard, bicycle, scooter or similar wheeled conveyance in an anti-social manner causing alarm, harassment or distress.
d) People urinating or defecating in a public place.
No person shall urinate or defecate in a public place (other than public toilets).
e) Unsolicited charity collection and face to face sales.
No fundraisers or face to face seller shall operate within the Prohibition Area unless they abide by the relevant code of conduct of the Council.
Use of powers:
A)     – Since the implementation of the PSPO 16 of the most persistent offenders have been dealt with via the PSPO.  In all cases they have been given conditional discharges by court.
B)     – Used by police as measure to remove young people from night time economy
C)     – Bicycles seized and parents spoken to by police
D)     – No use of power to date.
E)     – No use of power to date.  One incident occurred where PSPO could have been used.

Next Steps
The PSPO is due for renewal in November 2019. At this point a decision will need to be made to renew order in its current form, or amend with clauses either removed or added. If you would like contribute your views on this please email Richard Brown  via[email protected].

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