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Cabinet considered a
report of the Director of Public Health and Communities / Cabinet
Member for Equity, Safety and Reform which sought approval of a
borough wide public space protection order to prohibit consumption
of alcohol in public areas, away from licensed places and use of
mechanically propelled vehicles.
 
Resolved:
1.   
That the public space protection order as outlined in appendix one,
section two of the report be endorsed;
2.   
That the prompt commencement of a public consultation for a period
of 12 weeks be agreed;
3.   
That it be noted that a further report be produced following the
outcome of the public consultation and full Equality Impact
Assessment to help inform the final decision.
 
Reason for
recommendation:
Following a recent
review of Police ASB data in relation to off road bikes, there is a
wide spread issue across the borough. The table of statistics in
appendix 2, section 1 of the report, breaks down the reported
incidents from each area/ township across the borough.
 
The nuisance that is
caused by mechanically propelled vehicles varies, however the loud
noises that these vehicles generate is probably the most
aggravating factor that we have seen across reports. Another
recurring issue is the damage that these vehicles cause to public
land. Often, we are made aware of paths and parks that are no
longer able to be used as intended due to the damage that they have
caused. These issues demonstrate the detrimental effect that this
behaviour can have on people’s quality of life.
 
There have been a
total of 326 reported incidents recorded between January 2023 and
December 2023 relating to nuisance from mechanically propelled/off
road vehicles, as in addition to the 310 different incidents
recorded by the Police, Rochdale Borough Councils Community Safety
team received 16 additional reports which have been recorded on
Community Safety’s case management system REACT. An example
of a report that has been received by the council can be seen in
appendix 2, section 2 of the report.
 
The bar chart captured
in appendix 2, section 3 of the report demonstrates that although
usage of off road motor vehicles does increase significantly in the
summer months, it is a problem throughout the whole year, with
consistently high numbers of reports month on month.
 
The bar chart that can
be seen in appendix 2, section 4 of the report, illustrates the
most popular times of day nuisance from off road vehicles is
generally reported, with it significantly increasing from around
15:00 – 20:00.
 
The statistics seen in
appendix 2, section 5 of the report, details any incident recorded
across the Rochdale Borough involving alcohol from January 2023
through to December 2023. For the incident to have been included in
the statistics, it would have had to be recorded as
‘Anti-social’ upon closure meaning other incidents
involving alcohol, such as domestic incidents, may not be included,
even if they took place in the public domain.
 
A pie chart seen
within appendix 2, section 6 of the report, shows that a
significantly large proportion of the incidents were recorded in
Rochdale North. There are however still a significant number of
incidents recorded across the other 4 townships, demonstrating the
need for this order to be made borough wide. The significant
increase in reporting within Rochdale North is down to this area
incorporating Rochdale town centre which holds a significantly
larger night time economy.
 
The boroughs of
Rossendale and Oldham, which border the Rochdale borough to the
north and south east, have successfully implemented Public Spaces
Protection Orders with alcohol and mechanically propelled
vehicle  prohibitions which are now
being proposed by ourselves. A map detailing the areas covered by
these PSPOs can be seen within appendix 2, section 7 of the
report.

 
The council intends to
adopt an engagement approach to dealing with certain offences under
the PSPO. This will include referring individuals breaching the
alcohol restriction to support services such as Turning Point and
Petrus should it be deemed necessary.
 
Alternatives
considered and rejected:
The following
alternative options are available for members to consider

·        
Members could decide not to proceed with the PSPO in its
entirety.

·        
Members could agree to proceed with a select number of the proposed
prohibitions.

 
 Other powers that are available to the council and
police to enforce on anti-social behaviour relating to the proposed
prohibitions have been considered however these are not seen as
being as effective as what the proposed PSPO would be. Community
protection notices could be issued to perpetrators of the ASB
however this is not a quick solution as they can take a lengthy
time to process and are time consuming to manage. Civil injunctions
are also a tool which are able to be utilised however these are
also a lengthy process to obtain given the council has to provide
substantial evidence and attend court. Both of these which have
been considered also fail to provide a real deterrent due to a lack
of public knowledge around their existence, whereas the PSPO will
be heavily publicised through signs, meaning more people are likely
to take notice. The alternatives considered are also not targeted
towards a certain group of people and are not blanket across the
borough.