Newbury Town Centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO): background information

There is a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in place in Newbury town centre. The Order came into effect on 1st February 2021. It was varied and extended on 1st February 2024.

The order will last for 3 years although it can be varied and extended.

You can Icon for pdf read the varied and extended order here [275KB]

What the PSPO is

West Berkshire Council has introduced a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to provide additional tools to deal with a number of antisocial issues which cause concern to those who live, visit or work in Newbury town centre.

The Order introduces restrictions that apply to everyone within the restricted area. They are designed to ensure the law-abiding majority can enjoy public spaces, safe from antisocial behaviour.

You can read the order and find general information about PSPOs here.

Restrictions the PSPO covers

The Order covers the following activities:

antisocial street drinking
antisocial behaviour

The Order is a preventative measure with both restrictions allowing police officers and police community support officers (PCSO's) to request that the behaviour is stopped before a breach occurs.

An illustration of alcoholic drinks in a prohibition sign (a red circle with a diagonal red line through it).

If someone fails to stop drinking and/or surrender alcohol after being asked to do so by a police officer or PCSO to prevent nuisance or disorder, a breach of the PSPO will occur. This does not mean you cannot drink alcohol in public. If you are not causing a nuisance or disorder whilst consuming alcohol in a public place, the PSPO will not affect you.

An illustration of person shouting in a prohibition sign (a red circle with a diagonal red line through it).

If someone behaving in an antisocial manner fails to leave the restricted area after being asked to do so by a police officer or PCSO, a breach of the PSPO will occur. If you are requested to leave the restricted area you will be given a 'direction to leave' form to not return to the area for a period of time not exceeding 24 hours.

Map of the restricted area:

If someone breaches the Order

Officers will take a measured approach. They will engage, explain and encourage those at risk of breaching the Order through education and warnings. Enforcement will be a last resort.

Failure to comply with the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is a criminal offence and carries a maximum fine of £1,000 if convicted. However in most cases where it is deemed necessary to take enforcement, the offence would be dealt with by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Agencies will continue to ensure that support is provided to those who need it.

Who enforces the Order

The Order will be enforced by police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs). There are no new resources to enforce the Order so policing activity will continue to be prioritised based on up-to-date information and intelligence, which will be used to identify hotspot areas.

Reporting antisocial behaviour

See our antisocial behaviour (ASB) webpage for information on what ASB is and how to report it.

Background information

In West Berkshire, there was a Designated Public Place Order covering Newbury town centre, until October 2017 when it automatically converted into a PSPO. PSPOs can last for up to three years, but can be extended, varied or discharged during this period.

In 2020, we reviewed the PSPO and assessed the need to introduce a new condition to tackle a wider variety of antisocial behaviour.

When considering what could be included in a PSPO, we know that we need to balance things that people want to feel safer and happier in the town, whilst at the same time not being seen to be stopping people enjoying themselves, or introducing rules and regulations that can't be enforced.

2020 consultation

We proposed conditions in the following areas:

street drinking restriction
antisocial behaviour restriction

We asked for the views of our local residents, businesses, agencies, and visitors to Newbury in relation to the proposed conditions to include in the PSPO. The survey took approximately five minutes to complete.

The initial findings from the consultation were taken to the Building Communities Together Partnership on 21 April 2020 for a recommendation on the final decision. The final decision was expected to be made by 14 July 2020.

What you told us

We received 195 responses to the consultation and found that a large majority of respondents supported the proposed restrictions.

Street drinking restriction:

'No person shall refuse to stop drinking, or refuse to hand over any containers (sealed or unsealed), which are believed to contain alcohol when required to do so by an authorised officer to prevent nuisance or disorder'.

86.7% of respondents who answered the question, supported the proposed street drinking restriction. 10% of respondents who answered the question did not support the street drinking restriction.

Antisocial behaviour restriction

'Any person behaving in a manner that has caused, or is likely to cause, nuisance, harassment, alarm or distress must leave the restricted area when requested to do so by an authorised officer for a specified time, not to return to the area for a period not exceeding 24 hours'.

90.7% of respondents who answered the question, supported the antisocial behaviour restriction. 7.7% of respondents who answered the question did not support the antisocial behaviour restriction.

Restricted area

Respondents were also asked for their views on the proposed area that the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) should cover.

81% of respondents answered this question linked to the street drinking restriction. Of those that did respond, 95.6% agreed that the PSPO should cover the whole of Newbury town centre as indicated on the map of the proposed restricted area.

When respondents were asked the same question about the antisocial behaviour restriction 84.1% responded. 95.7% of those that responded to the question agreed that the restriction should cover the whole of Newbury town centre as indicated on the map of the proposed restricted area.

What we did

The results of the consultation showed that a PSPO would be supported by those living, working and visiting Newbury town centre. The local police area and Newbury town council were also supportive of the application.

The Building Communities Together Partnership were presented with the results of the consultation at their meeting on 14/07/2020. This was later than anticipated due to the COVID19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. The Partnership agreed that is appropriate to progress the application of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for Newbury town centre and recommended the Order is made as proposed as part of the consultation.

The recommendation of the Building Communities Together Partnership was taken into account when the final decision was made by West Berkshire Council's Head of Public Protection and Culture on 10th November 2020. The Delegated Officer Decision was that the Public Spaces Protection for Newbury town centre be implemented for 3 years.