Councillors welcome extension protection order for Peterborough city centre
The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) has been extended for another three years.
A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for the Millfield, New England, Eastfield and Embankment areas of Peterborough will be extended for a further three years.
The decision has been confirmed following a public consultation earlier this summer in which residents were invited to comment on the proposal and take part in an online survey which received overwhelming support for continuing the scheme.
The PSPO includes several conditions aimed at preventing anti-social behaviour including no urination in a public place, no littering or spitting and orders street drinkers to surrender open alcohol cans or disperse from the area. Anyone caught breaching a condition can face fines of up to £1,000 or Fixed Penalty Notices.
It was originally implemented in October 2021 and between that date and March 2024, a total of 50 FPNs were issued for breaches, with the majority concerning urination, defecation and alcohol-related incidents.
Following the consultation, an additional condition is to be included in the PSPO. This stipulates that no begging should take place within 10 metres of a cash or payment machine or any begging in a manner which is aggressive or intimidating.
Councillor Alison Jones, Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “We are fully committed to working with partners, including the police, to keep members of the public safe and develop strong and sustainable communities, which PSPOs are helping us to achieve.
“By continuing the Millfield, New England, Eastfield and Embankment PSPO this will directly enable the council and the Safer Peterborough Partnership achieve our key objectives of keeping our communities safe, cohesive and healthy and tackling anti-social behaviour.
“The PSPO also gives the council and police additional powers to utilise alongside other initiatives, policies and investments dedicated to tackling crime and improving the quality of life for communities within this area of the city.”
North ward councillor Asim Mahmood added: “This is a really good initiative. The police have been doing some really good work over the last two years in the area, especially with the Alliance Project (A campaign dedicated to regenerating areas most affected by organised crime.”
"The PSPO ties in very well with the work of the project in regards to bringing down drug trafficking and sexual exploitation. Organised crime is rife in Millfield and this PSPO as well as the public drinking ban has been really really good and it has given people more confidence to report incidents.
"This is also helping to make sure that criminals are going away for a lot longer because the police have hard evidence. It is exactly what we need.”