People in Banbury are being invited to share their views on anti-social behaviour in a recently launched consultation from Cherwell District Council and Thames Valley Police.

The consultation has been opened to give people the opportunity to have their say on a proposed public spaces protection order (PSPO) which will prohibit street drinking and begging.

Running across four weeks the consultation will take place online in the form of a survey and will be closed on April 14.

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A PSPO will give the council’s community wardens and the police further powers to tackle anti-social behaviour through issuing warnings and providing information about where people can access support.

Councillor Eddie Reeves, Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities, said: “Banbury is full of vibrant and bustling places that have welcoming communities and plenty of opportunities to socialise.

“It is vital that everyone feels able to safely use public areas to be able to meet friends and family, socialise and shop.

“Sadly, we’ve seen the behaviour of a small number of people causing people’s experiences to be impacted negatively which has also damaged the reputation of our wonderful town.

“We are proposing to reintroduce a PSPO in Banbury. We found that the previous PSPO acted as a useful deterrent and gives our community wardens and TVP officers extra powers to tackle behaviour that could cause alarm or distress including to confiscate alcohol.”

Officers will be able to issue fixed penalty notices for behaviours which don’t meet the thresholds or legal requirements for other formal action.

Restricted activities include loitering linked to antisocial behaviour, aggressive begging and ‘nuisance’ street drinking.

The PSPO also authorises officers to require people to surrender alcohol if by continuing to consume it they would cause nuisance or annoyance to other persons in the locality.

The council would also be able to utilise warning signs to promote the restrictions.

Mr Reeves added: “We encourage residents, businesses and regular visitors to Banbury to take part in our consultation and share their views so that we can ensure that we continue to approach antisocial behaviour in the best way that benefits the community.”

Community wardens and Thames Valley police officers are on hand to support the public and while they are out and about on their rounds members of the public are invited to speak with them to find out more about the consultation and ask any questions they may have.

They will also have QR codes and paper versions of the consultation available to be used.

The online consultation can be accessed via Let’s Talk Cherwell’s website, www.letstalk.cherwell.gov.uk.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1