Pleasure Fair Meadow car park PSPO ‘must be part of bigger operation’ for Peterborough

A councillor has warned that a proposed protection order at a Peterborough car park must be part of a bigger operation in the city to tackle car meets.

Peterborough City Council is looking to introduce a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) at Pleasure Fair Meadow car park, which has become a hotspot for unauthorised car meets and car cruising events.

The council says it has received several reports from nearby residents impacted by persistent noise, smoke and odours as well as littering.

Independent councillor Julie Stevenson is the former chair of a council task and finish group which was created to deal with the issue of car meets in Peterborough.

Speaking about the proposed PSPO, she said: “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time and I’m not quite sure why the PSPO has taken so long to get to consultation stage.”

She added: “One of the concerns I have is that we don’t want to shift the problem from place to place.

“Ideally, we need to push the problem out of Peterborough and the way to do that is with an injunction.

“There are injunctions in other parts of the country but there has been a legal challenge which means we can’t move that forward in Peterborough.

“We can’t take our eye off the ball with this. I’m not without sympathy for the people that organise the car meets, but they need to go legit.”

A PSPO includes conditions which anyone caught breaching can face fines of up to £1,000 or Fixed Penalty Notices.

The proposed PSPO for Pleasure Fair Meadow car park includes several conditions aimed at preventing ‘vehicle-related nuisance and anti-social behaviour’ and performing a range of activities in the area.

Cllr Stevenson said: “I’ve been encouraging residents to support this PSPO. It is part of a bigger picture for Peterborough where we have to make sure it doesn’t just push the problem somewhere else.

“I absolutely feel for the people that live in The Apex and around there. I know the terrible stress the noise causes them.

“I very much welcome the PSPO but I’m also cautious that it needs to be part of a bigger operation.”

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Christian Hogg, represents the Fletton and Stanground ward where the car park is located. He was also part of the former task and finish group.

Cllr Hogg said: “I feel that it has been identified quite some time ago that the car park is a magnet for anti-social behaviour, specifically from car enthusiasts.

“We absolutely welcome this initiative but I have to say I’m disappointed it has taken as long as it has to get to this stage.”

Cllr Hogg believes that the car meets need to be organised officially so residents know when and where they are taking place.

He added: “The PSPO is needed so the police have the tools they need to be able to enforce.

“We have the fair and football at the car park on a regular basis but it’s all done officially and that’s a different ball game.

“If there was some sort of scheme where they could book that space to be able to do a car meet with correct marshalls in place then absolutely that would be something we could look at.”

A public consultation over the PSPO plans is underway until Friday, March 28 and can be accessed on the city council website.

Once the consultation closes, responses will be considered before the council makes a recommendation to implement the PSPO for three years.

Councillor Alison Jones, cabinet member for housing and communities, said the council is “fully committed” to working with the police to keep the public safe.

She said: “We encourage residents who live near the Pleasure Fair Meadow car park to take part in this consultation, as well as businesses, community groups and people who work in the area.”

The car park is monitored by a council operated CCTV camera and, from April 2023 to November 2024, 32 incidents were logged by CCTV operators concerning anti-social or dangerous driving and vehicle-related ASB at this location.

These ranged from large scale car meets of approximately 300 cars to smaller gatherings of vehicles with drivers carrying out stunts such as doughnuts, hand brake turns and other dangerous driving.

Cambridgeshire Police has been carrying out regular high-vis patrols of the area.

A spokesperson for the force said: “We will continue these targeted patrols when we can, and will deal with anyone found to be driving anti-socially.

“We can issue Section 59 warnings, on both a driver and a vehicle, meaning if either is involved in anti-social behaviour again, the vehicle can be seized.”