Street drinking, urinating and drug-taking could be banned in Preston city centre’s public spaces

Fines of up to £100 would be on the cards for anybody who refused to stop swigging in public or to hand over their drink after being asked to do so by the police or a council officer.

The move is one of a range of measures being explored by Preston City Council as part of a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

The authority is this week expected to agree to launch a consultation into draft regulations that would also prohibit the use of “intoxicating substances” in public areas - as well as banning urination and defecation anywhere except in a public toilet.

A catch-all ban on acting in “an anti-social manner likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress” also features in the list of eight proposed restrictions, all of which could be enforced by police officers and authorised town hall officials.

The area proposed to be covered by the PSPO is bound by Ringway to the north, East Cliff, Avenham Lane and Queen Street to the south, Butler Street to the west and London Road to the east.

It would therefore include the Flag Market, the full length of Fishergate, the southern section of Friargate, Church Street, Winckley Square and the main and side entrances to the railway station.

A breach of the PSPO would occur if an individual within the prohibition zone were to “consume alcohol or have an open alcohol container…having been requested by an authorised officer to cease consumption…or hand over the container”. “Lawful premises” licensed for the consumption of alcohol would be exempt from the order.

According to a parliamentary research briefing explaining how PSPOs work, it is not against the law to drink alcohol in a controlled area - but it would be an offence to fail “to comply with a request" to stop drinking or to surrender the alcohol to the official demanding it.

Preston’s proposed order would also prevent the pitching of tents or similar structures in a way deemed to pose a risk to the health and safety of others, along with prohibiting the playing of amplified music - again, except in suitably licensed premises - at an excessive volume.

City council cabinet members are set to give the go-ahead to the consultation process at a meeting on Wednesday. The results of that exercise would then have to be considered before the cabinet made any future decision to introduce the order.

PSPOs were created under national legislation introduced in 2014. They permit local authorities to ban specific activities - or require compliance with certain measures - in areas to which the public has access.

Councils planning to introduce an order must have reasonable grounds to believe that the behaviour they are seeking to drive out “is having, or is likely to have, a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality”.

The activities to be banned must also be considered to be “persistent or continuing in nature” and “unreasonable” - thereby justifying the rules to be imposed.

A report to be presented to cabinet members notes that the city’s proposed order “should not inadvertently restrict sociability in public spaces” and must “balance the rights” of people to enjoy such areas with the civil liberties of individuals or groups who may be affected by any restrictions.

The order also needs to ensure that it avoids targeting people solely as a result of characteristics which are not detrimental to others - such as those who are rough sleepers.

The police already have powers to deal with many of the nuisances proposed for inclusion within Preston’s PSPO - such as under public order and public decency laws. However, the planned order would also allow for enforcement of the rules by council officers and make it an offence for anyone to engage in activity prohibited by the order without a “reasonable excuse”.

If a person found to be in breach of the order refused a fixed penalty notice of up to £100 and was later summarily convicted by magistrates, they would be liable for a maximum punishment of a “level 3” fine of up to £1,000.

Evidence to support the proposed prohibitions has been provided by Lancashire Police, Preston’s Business Improvement District (BID) and the city council itself. Relevant local organisations and the town hall’s crime and disorder committee have helped to identify issues which are considered detrimental to the community.

PSPOs can run for a maximum of three years before having to be reviewed.

WHAT ARE THE PROPOSED RULES?

Within any public space in the prohibited area:

***No persons shall consume alcohol or have an open alcohol container after having been requested by an authorised officer to cease consumption of alcohol or hand over the container (unless in an otherwise lawful premises).

***No persons shall ingest, inhale, inject, smoke, or otherwise use intoxicating substances (defined as “substances with the capacity to stimulate or depress the central nervous system or psychoactive substances”, excluding tobacco or prescription medication).

***No persons shall urinate or defecate in any public place (other than a public toilet).

***No persons shall discard hypodermic needles or syringes (except in an appropriate sharps container).

***No persons shall occupy a tent or other temporary structure in a manner likely to create a health and safety risk for other people.

***No persons shall obstruct a building entrance or exit, stairwell, or highway after being asked to move by an authorised officer.

***No persons shall use sound amplification equipment in any place (other than premises or vehicles where those activities are permitted under licence conditions) at a volume or in a manner that causes harassment, alarm or distress to any person and fail, without reasonable excuse, to reduce the volume or stop using the amplification equipment if requested to do so by an authorised officer.

***No persons shall act or incite others to act in an anti-social manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person.

Source: draft Public Space Protection Order, Preston City Council