Issue - meetings

To consider the extension of an existing Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) under section 60(2) of the Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the ASB Act) for Macclesfield Town Centre.

The committee considered a report concerning the extension of an existing Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) under section 60(2) of the Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the ASB Act) for Macclesfield Town Centre.

Cllr Ashely Farrall addressed the committee as a visiting member as a Ward Councillor for Macclesfield Central speaking on behalf of residents of the town centre. Councillor Farrell stated that he fully supported the extension of the Macclesfield Town Centre PSPO, and that the current PSPO had been a valuable and effective tool since it's implementation in July 2022. Cllr Ashely Farrall stated that it was a result of close collaboration between Cheshire East Council, Cheshire Police and local stakeholders, who at the time were responding to a real need that residents and businesses were constantly reporting issues of alcohol fuelled disorder, causing alarm or intimidation and a general decline in the public environment, and intervention was needed. Cllr Ashely Farrall stated that the PSPO has delivered results and that Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)had dropped by 65%, alcohol related incidents had more than halved and that in the year to March 2025, only two alcohol related ASB incidents had been reported. Councillor Ashley Farrell stated that they were not just statistics, but this represented real improvements to the people who live, work and visit the town centre on a daily basis. Cllr Ashely Farrall noted that the orders could be used proportionately and sensitively, and no fixed penalty notices had been issued under the order, and it was not a tool for criminalising vulnerable individuals; it was a mechanism for early, calm and preventative action that empowered officers to step in before behaviour escalated. Cllr Ashely Farrall repeated that the order should not, and would not, be used to criminalise people experiencing homelessness in the town.

Cllr Ashely Farrall stated that during the recent consultation, 84% of respondents supported extending the PSPO and residents said that the town centre felt safer and more inviting as a result. Cllr Ashely Farrall said that the signage and public engagement made it clear what was expected, and what the consequences of non compliance were. As a ward councillor, Councillor Farrell stated he would continue to work with officers and the community to ensure it remained effective and fair and that this not only built trust with enforcement teams, but in the Council's ability to listen and act, and urged the committee to approve the extension of the PSPO until 2028.

Members welcomed the recommendations and were in support of the recommendations to extend the order and  queried whether the defined area could be changed in the duration of 3 years if the evidence suggests that it should be.

The committee were updated that the geographical area could be varied or changed however any changes or variation on a public space protection order would have to go through public consultation and to be reviewed and brought back to the committee to make the decision and would require a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6