Canvey Island boy racers face £100 fines
It's after regular complaints of dangerous driving, racing, excessive noise, car cruises and meets
Boy racers face fines of £100 after Castle Point Borough Council signed off an order to clamp down on anti-social behaviour in Canvey Island.
But the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) also applies to anyone who is congregating on the Roscommon Way area to watch the series of car drivers who drive dangerously while also making so much noise residents find it hard to sleep.
There has been regular complaints of dangerous driving, racing, excessive noise, car cruises and meets since the road was built.
Activities can attract large crowds and there is a serious risk posed to spectators, the council says. The order also includes the Morriosons supermarket car park where people congregate.
A person found to be in breach of a PSPO is liable to be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100 or on summary conviction to a maximum penalty of a Level 3 fine.
First steps to bring in a stringent Public Spaces Protection Order to tackle anti-social boy racers was agreed by Castle Point Borough Council cabinet last year.
At the Cabinet meeting on November 17 2021 it was agreed to commence the statutory consultation on introducing a PSPO to deal with this vehicle anti-social behaviour.
Of the 302 responses to the six-week online consultation, 260 had witnessed or been affected by vehicle ASB in the area while 277 or 92 per cent indicated they would support the introduction of a PSPO.
Essex Police added its support for the introduction of the PSPO for the area around Roscommon Way which regularly sees anti-social behaviour and dangerous and careless driving, predominantly on Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday evenings between 9am and 2am.
The order which will last for three years means that police officers can issues fines immediately if a breach has occurred – previous attempts to prevent the activities through dispersal orders have been criticised for lacking teeth.
Councillor Michael Fuller (Canvey Island Independent Party, Canvey Island North) said at cabinet on July 20: “This doesn’t just address the performers it also addresses the audience and without the audience the performers don’t perform.
“I live in Canvey and this has been an on-going and unpleasant experience for many years.
“The order includes activities that include recording of the listed activities.
“This is what goes on down there – you have the car drivers but it is the audience that encourages and films them.
“This will go a long way to address this because it is not only the people who drive the cars who are subject to these penalties but any one who goes down there and watches them.”
The council says if the FPN is not paid then it will consider prosecuting the individual for a breach of the order in the magistrates court which can include fines of thousands of pounds if the prosecution is successful.