Car cruising set to be banned in across part of Northamptonshire
It's after concerns around anti-social behaviour.
An order banning car cruising is set to be brought in across West Northamptonshire, amid rising concerns about anti-social behaviour relating to motor vehicles.
The Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would allow the council and Northamptonshire Police to try and tackle some of the car activities more effectively and remove or reduce their impact on residents.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has stated that car-cruising events have been taking place on the county’s roads and other public places for several years. Locations being regularly used for meets include the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, the A45 off Junction 16 of the M1, the Sixfields Roundabout in Northampton and the Moulton bypass on the A43.
The report continued: “These meets regularly result in racing, drifting, performing stunts such as doughnuts, wheel spins and handbrake turns and other anti-social motor vehicle related activities, such as playing loud music, revving engines and sounding car horns excessively and loudly, and generally obstructing roads, pavements and car parks.
“These activities have detrimentally affected people who live where they are taking place and businesses in the locality.”
The largest event to date included over 160 cars and several hundred spectators in March 2024. Police say that the events create a ‘significant demand’ on its resources due to the volume of calls by concerned residents and the number of officers that need to be deployed to prevent street racing.
According to WNC, car cruising has a number of indicators, including driving vehicles at excessive speed, revving engines, driving vehicles in a convoy, car racing, performing stunts, and causing obstruction on a public highway.
Individuals could be found in breach of the protection order if they are participating in any car cruising activity as a passenger or driver. Congregating to spectate a car cruising event would also be prohibited. The order would apply to all land within the West Northants boundary.
PSPOs are powers used by councils and their partners to address anti-social behaviour in a defined public space. Attending or taking part in car cruising is not a criminal offence in its own right and papers say the authorities’ enforcement powers are currently ‘limited’.
Failure to comply with a PSPO prohibition or restriction without reasonable excuse is punishable with a maximum £1,000 fine if convicted by a magistrates’ court. Officers may also issue a £100 fixed penalty notice to any person they have reasonable cause to believe has breached the order.
WNC’s new Reform UK cabinet will meet for the first time on Tuesday, June 3, to discuss the PSPO measures. If approved, the order will be made for a maximum period of three years with the opportunity to extend.