Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO)

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO's) in operation in Rushcliffe

The Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) are enacted under powers given by the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. PSPO's are designed to prevent antisocial behaviour in our communities, on streets, and other publicly accessible areas.

They assist in tackling ASB in the areas covered by the PSPO with particular regard to the control of dogs, youth and adult alcohol related problems and could assist officers tackling alcohol related issues which arise from the football and cricket events too. Rushcliffe believe that no person should be urinating/defecating in parks and open spaces and this PSPO makes this clear.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has two active PSPO’s:

Anti-Social Behaviour

The PSPO for ASB has been approved at Cabinet on the 9 Dec 2025 and the meeting notes and approval can be viewed here at Council and Democracy - Rushcliffe Borough Council. the Order was subject to public consultation from 8 August 2025 to 5 September 2025

The approved Order and Approved Schedules are here:

The current PSPO for ASB includes offences/requirements relating to:

Refusal to stop drinking alcohol or hand over containers by an authorised officer.
Refusal to leave the location specified when given a direction to do so by an authorised officer, subject to conditions for use:
Prohibition on urinating or defecating on land or street furniture

Failure to comply with a PSPO enables authorised enforcement officers to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £100 or the person could find themselves prosecuted. A breach is a criminal offence and there is a maximum penalty of a £1,000.

The original PSPO was approved 8 December 2017 and the Order signed on 2 Feb 2017 and has been renewed and amended by the Council on the 5 December 2019, 1 December 2022 and again on 9 December 2025 which amends and extends the Order for a further 3 years. The PSPO will expire if not renewed again within the 3 year period.

Details of the preceding PSPO’s versions are shown below:

The PSPO replaced the existing Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) regarding street drinking.

Dog Control

A PSPO was approved in 2022 and renewed with changes in 2025 as detailed below in respect of dog control and is in place until 8 July 2028. It imposes restrictions/requirements on those in control of a dog with regards to

dog fouling (failing to remove),
having a means to pick up dog waste,
dogs on leads/dogs prohibited in certain locations.
A person in charge of a dog must not have more than 6 dogs on open public land (or 4 dogs on Alford road park, Gresham Park or West Park)

Further details can be found on the dog fouling webpage or to view the order see PSPO Dog Control with seal (PDF - 225KB)

The current dog control PSPO was renewed on the 8 July 2025 and was subject to public consultation. This was approved by the Councils Cabinet on the 13 May 2025.

Public Spaces Protection Orders FAQs

Frequently asked questions about the prohibition and requirement contained in the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

Public Space Protection Order - designated areas in West Bridgford

What is a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO)?

This is an area that can be designated by Rushcliffe Borough Council where anti-social behaviour has been causing a nuisance or annoyance. In the designated area, police, police community support officers and council officers have certain powers to help tackle anti-social behaviour, such as:

Vomiting, urinating and defecating in public areas
littering
violence, aggressive or intimidating behaviour
criminal damage.
dog control eg dog fouling

Are there time restrictions on a PSPO?

The PSPO will be in force all day, every day. The PSPO will last for three years and can be extended, following a review.

Will there be any extra policing to enforce the PSPO?

No. The Neighbourhood Teams will continue to patrol and respond to incidents as part of their community response.

What are the benefits of a PSPO?

The main benefits of a PSPO are to help tackle anti-social behaviour associated with street drinking and rough sleeping. Begging, urinating in the street, aggressive or intimidating behaviour and litter are also linked to these behaviours.

What will the PSPO control?

The PSPO will seek to control the following forms of anti-social behaviour:

Consumption of alcohol in a public place can lead to Anti-social behaviour, such as:

Vomiting, urinating and defecating in public areas
littering
violence, aggressive or intimidating behaviour
criminal damage.

Consumption of alcohol in a public place

The Order stipulates that person(s) within this area surrender any alcohol in their possession to an authorised person on request, if:

they are found to be ingesting alcohol, or
they are in possession of alcohol with the intention of drinking it within this area, or
the authorised person has reasonable grounds to believe that such person is using or intends to drink the alcohol within the designated area.

An authorised person shall be a police constable, police community support officer or a designated Rushcliffe Borough Council Officer, who must be able to present their authorisation on request.

What are the concerns and issues with street drinking?

Street drinking is sometimes associated with anti-social behaviour, causing high levels of noise, rowdy and nuisance behaviour, harassment and intimidation of passers-by, as well as the littering of cans and bottles.

Would people still be able to drink and hold bottles outside pubs?

Yes. The PSPO does not make it illegal to drink alcohol in a public place, however, if a person was to drink beyond the legal boundary of a licensed premise and they do not stop drinking when asked to do so by a police officer or other authorised officer then they could be at risk of breaching the order.

Are licensed premises affected?

Although a PSPO would restrict alcohol consumption in a public area, the Act states that licensed premises are not affected.

What about street parties and events in parks?

Events within a public place authorised by a licence (or a Temporary Event Notice) will be excluded from the PSPO powers.

Outdoor sleeping

This has been removed from the current Order following government guidance

Control of dogs

The offence of not removing dog fouling and not carrying a means of picking up dog waste are in force throughout the council area on land that is open to the public. It is recognised that dog fouling spreads disease and is offensive.

There are other restrictions on number of dogs that any one person can control on a walk, where dogs should not have access or must be on a lead to prevent harm to children and other dogs/dog walkers.

See our dog control pages for more information dog fouling webpage

How will the PSPO work?

Authorised officers can request people to stop drinking alcohol in the designated public places and ask them to surrender their drink, including unopened containers of drink being carried. If people refuse they can be issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of up to £100 and a maximum of £1000 upon prosecution.

If it was clear that an individual had no source of income, a positive requirement for them to attend a support service e.g. rehabilitation via a court order could be an alternative outcome to a FPN.

A PSPO is not an outright ban on street drinking. It is not an offence to consume alcohol in a public place; the offence is failing to comply with an officer’s request.

People found breaching the PSPO can be issued a fixed penalty notice of up to £100 and a maximum of £1000 upon prosecution.

Do police already have these powers?

The police can make an arrest for street drinking related anti-social behaviour (Public Order); however it is only an offence to refuse to stop drinking/surrender the alcohol when asked where a PSPO is in operation. Where there is no PSPO in operation, it is not an offence alone to refuse to surrender alcohol, although any related anti-social behaviour can give cause for arrest.

Will there be signs in West Bridgford alerting people to the new PSPO?

Yes. Signs are required in new locations and the existing signs will be amended to show the new requirements and that there is PSPO in operation.

How will the PSPO help homeless people that display anti-social behaviour?

As stated above, this order is not intended to target the homeless. Any homeless person that did ‘display’ these behaviours would initially be encouraged to voluntarily engage with support services. If however, they refused and continued with the antisocial behaviours, we would consider enforcement action, with the intention to seek a positive outcome for the individual via a court imposed order to engage with support services, rather than suggest any financial penalty which would not be appropriate in the circumstances. In such circumstances we would not issue a FPN, but instead seek the positive requirement outcome from the Courts.

Once someone has been issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) and it has gone unpaid, will you be issuing more for further offences?

We would not issue a Fixed Penalty Notice to anybody that we thought had no ability to pay. Will the Council take into account mental stability or general ability to follow these rules before issuing these FPNs? For example if a homeless person needs to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and has no access to public facilities.

Yes, of course. We would first of all try and work with any individual in these circumstances and encourage them to seek support from the relevant service or charity.

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Community Safety