Councillors agree extension to Public Spaces Protection Order in Bideford Town Centre

Torridge District Councillors have agreed to a continuation and extension of the Public Spaces Protection Order in relation to 'Street Drinking Controls' in Bideford, which they passed at Full Council on Monday 8 April 2024.  The new Order comes into force on 27 April 2024 and will remain in effect for a period of three years unless extended by further Orders under the Council's statutory powers.

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) are designed to stop individuals or groups committing antisocial behaviour (ASB) in a public space. Before a PSPO can be issued, the Council must be able to show that the behaviour, which will be restricted, has or is likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, is of a persistent or continuing nature and is unreasonable.

The Public Spaces Protection Order relates to a specified area in Bideford and encompasses Victoria Park, the Quay and Town Centre areas. Following a minor revision during the debate the cattle market site was also added to the area covered. Between January 2023 and January 2024, police logs showed that The Quay had the highest number of incident calls for any given location in Torridge. The High Street came in second and Mill Street was third. There were 145 ASB related calls to the police about incidents on the Quay during that period, 107 calls relating to ASB on the High Street and 93 in Mill Street. 31 Dispersal notices were issued during the current PSPO period, and the council is currently progressing 1 breach of a dispersal notice.

While the Police and council officers use discretion when enforcing the orders, breaching a PSPO is a criminal offence. If appropriate, a breach may be dealt with by means of a Fixed Penalty Notice in lieu of prosecution in a Magistrates Court. A combination of patrols and CCTV incident monitoring has reduced ASB instances in the area by 54% between 2021 and 2024.

Councillor Doug Bushby, Chair of Torridge District Council and Lead Member for Finance & Audit, commented:

"On behalf of the Council, I fully support the PSPO scheme in Bideford. The town centre area has benefited immensely when uniformed staff are present both during the daytime and evenings. I was really surprised by the number of business staff who I spoke to who were full of praise for the street Marshall's enforcing the previous PSPO scheme. Shop lifting in the town also saw a decrease particularly from the co-op store in Mill Street. There is no doubt in my mind that the street Marshall's play an important role in making the town feel safer for residents and visitors alike. As the ward member for the town centre, I can say this scheme helps enormously with antisocial behaviour."

The Specified Area for the PSPO is shown edged in red on the map above

12 April 2024