Dorset Council has launched a public consultation today, asking residents for their views on eight proposed Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs).
The proposals include changes to existing PSPOs which currently cover West Dorset and Weymouth and Portland areas, but are due to expire next year. The new Orders are set at town level for:
The orders aim to renew and introduce powers that can be used by the council and partners to address anti-social behaviour.
In all six towns a dispersal order is being proposed, which would mean that people engaging in anti-social behaviour could be fined if they fail to move on when asked.
The new plan for Weymouth suggests small amendments to the existing restrictions for cycling on the promenade and extending measures around alcohol consumption to more areas in the town. A ‘gating order’ would also see gates installed to restrict access to Trinity Passage. The area, which runs parallel to the main public footpath along North Quay and trinity Road, has been subject to anti-social behaviour which impacts on residents and use of Holy Trinity Church.
For towns in West Dorset the revised plans include changes to boundaries in Bridport and Lyme Regis where drink orders are in place. In Dorchester the intentional feeding of gulls will be added to the existing PSPO.
The council are also asking for views from the public on two new PSPOs which intend to help tackle issues arising from camping on beaches and would introduce new measures to help to prevent wildfires.
The proposals would restrict camping on beaches in several locations, including Chesil Beach, Weymouth Beach and Lulworth. The Order has been suggested in response to the rising number of people camping on beaches during summer months in 2020 and 2021, which led to a significant increase in nuisance complaints, damage to property, accumulation of rubbish and human waste and destruction of natural habitat.
The Dorset Open Land Anti-Social Behaviour related PSPO aims to offer an additional measure in preventing wildfires, following the devastating fire at Wareham Forest in May 2020 which destroyed over 220 hectares of the forest. The proposal is supported by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service, who emphasised they are committed to working with the council to protect these areas.
Cllr Laura Miller, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Community Services, said:
“Dorset Council has a key role to play in helping to make sure our public spaces can be used and enjoyed by everyone.
“We don’t want to prevent or stop people from enjoying themselves responsibly, but we know how anti-social behaviour can impact our communities and we need to ensure we have measures and tools in place should we need them.”
The consultation will run until 13 January 2022.
More information about the proposed PSPOs and surveys can be found at: dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/PSPO-consultation
To request a paper copy of the survey, please contact communitysafetyteamc@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or call 01305 762439.
I have been trying for years to get cyclists stopped from riding on the promenade during the Summer. We have paid people to enforce this but nothing has changed. For months I have been trying to stop cyclists from using the Greenhill Gardens but nothing has been done to stop this either, despite John Orrell’s attempts. I get abuse and have been told there are no signs to stop cycling in the gardens which is correct. The Council put a tiny sign at the top of steps on the tennis courts. Do they really think people cycle down the steps?
Pedestrians have NOWHERE to walk without people on WHEELS of many kinds!! Having been hit by a loose skateboard I am really fed up with this issue.
B-b-qs should not be allowed on and in any areas of high fire risk.
Hi Jo, thanks for your comment. If there are areas you think should be covered by the Open Land PSPO, which aren’t included in the proposals, please do take part in the consultation by completing the survey. The rules for PSPO’s are strict and we can only include areas where there is evidence of significant and ongoing issues, so your views and evidence will help to shape the new measures.
“the Controlled Zone” is repeatedly referred to – but I was unable to discover what geographical area this actually is. There was no link to a map of it, nor was any map provided in the document.
No inclusion was made of littering – a constant blight in Weymouth. This is, of course, partly what feeds the gulls. Not to acknowledge the crossover is, to my mind, an opportunity lost.
Hi Judi, sorry to hear this – could you let us know which survey this is on so we can look in to it? Littering is already an offence, covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/16/part/3/crossheading/offence-of-dropping-litter
PSPOs would be great if you bothered to enforce them. Drinking alcohol on Weymouth Esplanade has been banned since 2018 (if memory serves correctly) but every day you can witness people sitting in the shelters and on benches drinking, getting drunk and being obnoxious. I have seen both police and council wardens ignoring them – when I challenged two wardens about it, their reply was ‘there is nothing we can do about it and nowhere else for these people to go’.
This needs to be extended to Purbeck, with particular focus on the Studland and Swanage localities.
Hi Jacqui, thanks for your comment. Please make sure your views are included in the consultation by completing the survey too. The rules for PSPO’s are strict and we can only include areas where there is evidence of significant and ongoing issues. The views and evidence from the consultation will help to shape the new measures. Thanks, Katie
My rear windscreen was recently broken for no apparent reason whilst parked in a designated residential zone in Dorchester.
The inconvenience of having no car until the windscreen was replaced was annoying and then the cost of an insurance excess.
I support the use of CCTV cameras but are their locations a matter of public knowledge and can a camera be added to the system in order to cover a known vulnerable area ?
Thanks for your comment. You can find out general information about Dorset Council CCTV here: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/your-community/community-safety/dorset-council-cctv
If you have any questions, please contact the Community Safety team https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/-/community-safety-team-dorset-council
It would be extremely handy for the anti-social rules regarding feeding the gulls to be extended and enforced for businesses also. It’s undeniable, that the majority in Dorchester town centre are caused by dirty pub tables and overflowing private rubbish bins.
Thank you for your comment. Don’t forget to complete the survey with your feedback to make sure your views are included in the consultation: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/public-space-protection-orders-pspos-consultation
When anti social behaviour is being carried out by children 16years and under then there parents should be visited by the police to question if child is out of there control and make them aware of there responsibility. I do not understand that in serious cases such as stabbings why the parents are not named and shamed in such situations.