Have your say on renewal of licensing policy and protection order

A public consultation on the renewal on a licensing policy to prevent and legal orders to tackle anti-social behaviour, has now begun.

West Suffolk Council is asking residents across the district for their views as to whether the Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) it has in place, should be renewed. And it is calling for evidence for or against the renewal of its Cumulative Impact Assessment areas, a licensing policy that covers Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket town centres.

Public Space Protection orders provide councils and police with extra powers to tackle specific issues of anti-social behaviour that are harming a local community.

Orders are in place in parts of Brandon, Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Newmarket to prevent people drinking alcohol in the streets or other areas that aren’t licensed.

There are also orders in place to ban anti-social use of motor vehicles in both Bury St Edmunds town centre and on Moreton Hall. And an order also bans begging in Bury St Edmunds town centre – the council works to accommodate people and get them the support that they need for mental health or addiction issues and begging can sometimes jeopardise that work especially if the money donated is spent on drink or drugs.

Instead, the council supports Bury Drop In’s “Looking for Change” campaign which allows people to donate by text – the money is then used to help people who have been homeless, had help and are ready to move on with their lives.

A PSPO requiring dog walkers to bag and bin their dog’s foul is also in place covering all public spaces in West Suffolk while there are also dog exclusion areas across West Suffolk (https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/community/pspo/pspo-dogs.cfm )which are again covered by a PSPO. The council’s approach to dog walkers is to educate and encourage people to bag and bin dog faeces while also removing any excuses by working with partners who provide free bag dispensers.

Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) areas have been in place in Newmarket since 2008 and Bury St Edmunds since 2014. The licensing policy tries to prevent an increase in licensed premises or licensing hours within the designated areas, leading to an increase in anti-social behaviour and crime.

Both CIAs are up for renewal before the end of this year.

A change in the law means that any decision to renew the CIA must be justified by evidence of its effectiveness. For that reason, the CIA part of the consultation is asking not for people’s opinions, but to see if they have any evidence in support or against the renewal of the CIA for their area.

People can take part in the CIA and PSPO consultation at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WestSuffolkCouncilPSPO-CIA-consultation

The consultation will close on July 21, 2023.