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A raft of new street rules could be introduced to curb the antisocial behaviour blighting a Preston neighbourhood.
Preston City Council is planning to bring in a series of bans in public places centred around the Fishwick area on – amongst other things – discarding used condoms and needles, going to the toilet and taking drugs. People will also be able to be ordered to stop drinking alcohol in the street.
A total of eight new regulations will apply to a part of the city dubbed “Inner East Preston” – incorporating parts of the Fishwick and Frenchwood, and St. Matthew’s wards – if the authority decides to introduce a public spaces protection order (PSPO) across the zone.
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The council’s cabinet will next week be asked to approve launching a public consultation into the proposal, which covers an area bound by London Road, Meadow Street, Deepdale Road, Ribbleton Lane, Blackpool Road, New Hall Lane and Fishwick View.
A phone box on the edge of the suggested PSPO area – on the corner of East View and Meadow Street – has become known as a sex and drugs den, as revealed last year.
A report to cabinet members states that the aim of the order is to “address antisocial behaviour which has negative effects upon members of the community”.
It reveals that evidence to support the proposed rules has been provided by the city council itself, Lancashire Police, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Community Gateway Association, Your Housing group and residents living in the area, who have all made reports of crime and antisocial behaviour.
Proposed rules in full
The rules within the PSPO can be enforced by the police or city council officers:
***No persons shall consume alcohol or have an open alcohol container within the Prohibition Area after having been requested by an Authorised Officer to cease consumption of alcohol or hand over the container (unless in an otherwise lawful premises).
***No persons shall ingest, inhale, inject, smoke, or otherwise use intoxicating substances within the Prohibition Area.
***No persons shall urinate or defecate in any public place (other than a public toilet) within the Prohibition Area.
***No persons shall discard hypodermic needles or syringes in any public place within the Prohibition Area (except in an appropriate sharps container).
***No persons shall discard used condoms in any public place within the Prohibition Area (except in an appropriate closed container).
***No persons shall obstruct a building entrance or exit, stairwell, or highway in the Prohibition Area after being asked to move by an Authorised Officer.
***No persons shall act or incite others to act in an antisocial manner likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to any person within a public space within the Prohibition Area.
***No persons shall refuse to provide their genuine name and address to an Authorised Officer for the purposes of enforcement of the Public Spaces Protection Order.
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