Burnley Council set to extend PSPO powers to crackdown on begging, anti-social behaviour, substance misuse and bogus charity collectors in town centre

The current Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which gives council officers and the police extra powers to deal with issues like anti-social behaviour, begging, and bogus charity collectors, is due to finish in November.

Council leaders will decide whether to extend the order for a further three years when they meet later this month. The new order, if approved, would give extra powers to deal with people drinking alcohol or taking drugs on the street, or creating too much noise using amplifiers in the town centre, including Manchester Road train station and parts of Trafalgar Street.

Coun. Shah Hussain, executive member for community and environmental services, said: “We are working hard to make Burnley town centre

a welcoming place where people want to visit and where they feel safe.

“The proposed PSPO will help the council and other agencies achieve that by tackling some of the issues that affect town centres across the country.

“This is about making the town centre available to everyone while ensuring that people’s and businesses’ concerns are addressed fairly and effectively.”

The proposal to renew the PSPO comes after consultation with town centre businesses, residents and other groups who welcomed the proposed extension.

What is a Public Spaces Protection Order?

PSPOs are part of a broad range of tools to deal with nuisance or problems in an area that cause harm to the quality of life of the local community. The power to make a PSPO was given to District Councils by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.