The council has been recommended to extend the order for three more years.

Peterborough City Council is planning to extend the Public Spaced Protection Order (PSPO) that covers Millfield, New England, Eastfield and the Embankment.

The order has been in place since October 2021 and allows police the power to restrict behaviour that is: “having, or be likely to have, a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, be persistent or continuing nature and is unreasonable.”

Street drinking is completely prohibited within Stanley Recreation Ground, Stanley Road, Crawthorne Road, Brook Street car park, Broadway, Fitzwilliam Street, Church Walk and Park Road.

The PSPO would cover Millfield, New England, Eastfield and the Embankment.

placeholder image — The PSPO would cover Millfield, New England, Eastfield and the Embankment.

Between October 2021 and March 2024, the council issued the following number of fixed penalty notices: Littering- 6 - Failure to disperse (alcohol or anti-social behaviour) 17 (15 alcohol 2 ASB) - Spitting 7 - Urination or defecation 20

Council documents state that the number of notices handed out are low due to the “council’s limited resources,” however, the authority has now doubled the size of its environmental enforcement team.

Fixed penalty notices are not issued to people who are homeless or have no income.

If an individual does not engage with support services and persists in breaching the PSPO conditions, evidence is gathered of further breaches and alternative interventions are considered.

These may include Community Protection Warnings and Notices, Civil Injunctions or Criminal Behaviour Orders.

In 2023, the Safer Communities Service served Criminal Behaviour Orders on five individuals following prosecutions for persistent breaches of Public Spaces Protection Orders. The Orders prohibit individuals from committing offences in relation to alcohol related anti-social behaviour and from being in parts of the city centre and the Millfield, New England, Eastfield and the Embankment.

The council wards of Central, East, North and Park are covered in the current order.

The number of anti-social behaviour incidents recorded in each ward by the police between March 2023 and February 2024 were: North- 250 Central- 876 Park 146 East 233

The decision about whether to extend the order for another three years, up to 2027 is set to be made later this month by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Alison Jones.