Street drinking ban is being considered in Banbury town centre to tackle anti-social behaviour

Cherwell District Council has launched a public consultation today (July 26), inviting residents to have their say on the measures.

The council is proposing to put a new public spaces protection order (PSPO) in place across the town centre and People’s Park.

This order would give the council and the police further powers to discourage antisocial behaviour and issue fines to people.

Cllr Rob Parkinson, portfolio holder for regulatory, said: “We want people to enjoy everything Banbury has to offer without experiencing antisocial behaviour.

“Incidents of aggressive begging, street drinking, and verbal abuse are relatively rare, but they can have a serious impact on their victims when they do happen. A PSPO signals to people that we want the best for Banbury and allows our community wardens and colleagues in the police service to take enforcement action if necessary.

“We want residents, businesses, and people in the area who use Banbury town centre to have their say and contribute to making Banbury’s public spaces as safe and welcoming as possible.”

The objective of the PSPO would be to crack down on aggressive begging, aggressive or intimidating street drinking and abusive, violent or aggressive behaviour.

Council staff or police officers would first offer a warning and information to people in the first instance of people acting in an anti-social manner.

They would also encourage people to access support services before using the formal powers of the PSPO to issue fines.

To access the consultation, visit: https://cherwell.citizenspace.com/

The consultation will run until Friday, August 23.