BCP Council considering anti-social behaviour prevention measures
The authority could bring in two Public Space Protection Orders
New rules aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour in coastal areas and open spaces of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are to be considered by BCP Council.
They're looking at bringing in two Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO), which would give the authority more powers to prevent incidents and deal with those responsible.
The PSPOs have been recommended for approval following a public consultation that attracted 1,500 comments earlier this year.
A Coastal PSPO would include all beaches, cliff tops and pier approaches from Ham Common Peninsula to Highcliffe.
It would specifically ban the lighting of open fires, intimidating and aggressive behaviour, loud music, public urination and defecation, and the lighting of barbeques between the hours of 7.00am and 6.00pm.
A PSPO for Open Spaces would ban the use of all barbeques, including disposables, at all times, across 20 designated open spaces in the BCP region and prohibit the lighting of fires or throwing or dropping of any items which are likely to pose a risk of fire.
Cllr Kieron Wilson, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regulatory Services, said:
“One of our priorities is to make Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole a safe place to live, work and visit, and these PSPOs will give us another tool to work with in reducing anti-social behaviour.
“Residents and visitors continually raise concerns over the summer months around negative behaviour which impacts on the enjoyment of our beaches and open spaces – as well as being detrimental to the environment.
“Over 1,500 residents, business and visitors fed back into the consultation at the start of the year which has led to us recommending these new PSPOs.
“We want all our residents to feel safe while enjoying the beach and open spaces, and not be impacted by negative behaviours. And we also want our visitors to come back to our destination because they enjoyed their time with us and felt safe, so I’m looking forward to discussing this next week, for the benefit of our communities.”