Bedford Borough Council has consulted with citizens and stakeholders of the Borough for their views on introducing a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle street drinking in Town Centre areas.
This PSPO prohibits people consuming alcohol or having an open container of alcohol in the defined area, to prevent anti-social behaviour.
It covers the town centre from the following areas:
View the Order and the defined area map (PDF)
No person shall consume alcohol or have an open container of alcohol at any time in the area shown by purple shading within the defined area covering town centre areas.
Nothing in this restriction shall apply to those premises to which section 62 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 applies as set out in Schedule 1 to this Order.
The original PSPO will came into force on 16 December 2020 and has now been extended. The extended order came into effect on 16 December 2023 and will run for a period of three years.
View the PSPO street drinking sign (PDF).
Section 59 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 enables the Council to bring in a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) under powers introduced by Government.
The PSPO gives the Police and authorised officers powers to enforce against those breaching the restrictions. Enforcement of the PSPO can range from asking the person to surrender the alcohol, issuing a Community Protection Notice, a criminal behaviour order, to issuing a fixed penalty notice. The Council will continue to offer support for people where appropriate, such as referral to alcohol support services.
The Council would like to thank all those who took part in the consultation where an overwhelming 92.3% of responses were in support of the extension of the PSPO. A report was taken to the Council’s Executive on 22 November 2023 where the proposal to extend the PSPO for a further three years was approved by the Council’s Executive.
View the report including the consultation responses received here.