Borough-wide order planned

Slough: Authorities try to tackle public disorder

Slough could be subject to a new legal order providing authorities with greater powers to tackle drinking and antisocial behaviour in public places.

A borough-wide Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would prohibit street drinking and refusing to surrender the alcohol, if requested.

Currently, nine areas of the borough have been subject to PSPOs since October 2017 to combat anti-social behaviour.

However, should if approved, the PSPO would give police the power to issue on-the-spot fines of up to £100 or take rulebreakers to court where fines of up to £1,000 could be handed out for repeated or serious breaches.

An eight-week consultation has been launched by Slough Borough Council on the proposal to expand the order.

The proposed PSPO would prohibit the following activities:

continuing to drink alcohol or consume intoxicating substances when required to stop doing so by a police officer or police community support officer

not surrendering any alcohol or intoxicating substances in his or her possession when required to do so by a police officer or police community support officer.

Once the consultation period is over the council will look at feedback and take it into consideration for the final proposal of the order, before approval is sought from cabinet after the consultation ends.

Councillor Beni Bains, lead member for regulation and public protection, said: “The order has made it easier to target anti-social behaviour in the locations where it is currently in place.

“However, expanding it to cover the whole borough makes it easier to enforce and for people to understand. It will be part of a toolkit to tackle lower level behaviour which has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of residents.”

Residents who want to participate in the consultation are encouraged to view the online documents at slough.gov. uk/consultations

Views can be submitted by emailing reportASB@slough.gov.uk with the subject ‘Borough wide PSPO consultation’, or writing to “Borough wide PSPO consultation”, Place and Regulation, Observatory House,

Windsor Road, Slough, SL1 2EL.

The consultation ends on Friday 8 July.