Feedback wanted on new rules to tackle antisocial behaviour in Thanet

Thanet District Council wants local people to give their views on proposed, stricter rules to help reduce antisocial behaviour across the district.

The existing Alcohol and Antisocial Behaviour Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), both come to the end of their three year lifespan in July 2024. The council is proposing that they are combined and renewed.

The aim of the proposed combined PSPO is to reduce the amount of antisocial behaviour (ASB) across the district. It brings together the rules from the two existing PSPOs, and in addition, introduces three further changes:

• Prohibiting the consumption of legal psychoactive substances and intoxicants where it is likely to have a detrimental effect on local communities, leading to antisocial behaviour, harassment, alarm or distress to people in a public place. 
• Prohibiting behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to other people. This includes approaching women in the area, asking if they are for hire or making sexually inappropriate comments. 
• Extending the designated area of the combined PSPO to cover the whole of the district of Thanet. The current ASB PSPO is limited to Margate and Ramsgate. 

If the PSPO is agreed, the new rules will come into force on Wednesday 31 July 2024 for a period of three years, and will apply to anyone in the district of Thanet. Enforcement officers will have the authority to enforce the new rules and issue Fixed Penalty Notices. The penalty is £100 to be paid within 28 days but is reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.

As part of the process to introduce the PSPO, the council is conducting a public consultation to give the local community the opportunity to comment on the proposals, and to help shape the PSPO before it is presented to Councillors for approval. It is important that everyone knows what to expect once the PSPO is implemented, to make sure that the PSPO achieves its goals.

The consultation will be open from Friday 3 May to 5pm on Friday 24 May 2024.

Cllr Heather Keen, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Antisocial behaviour can adversely affect people’s enjoyment of where they live and nuisance behaviour can quickly escalate if it isn’t dealt with. This combined PSPO expands on the negative behaviours that can be tackled through enforcement, with the aim of making Thanet a safer and cleaner place to live in, work in or visit. I would urge local people to complete the online survey, as we know that this is a top priority for the residents of Thanet.”

Updates will be provided on the outcome, and if the PSPO is agreed, signs will be installed to explain the new rules. 

The draft PSPO document and the short online survey are available on Your Voice Thanet, the council’s online engagement platform. 

Further information about antisocial behaviour and PSPOs is available on the council’s website.