Ban on street drinking in Wakefield city centre set to be extended for three years in battle to tackle anti-social behaviour

A public spaces protection order (PSPO) was introduced in 2017 to clamp down on drinkers and drug users causing a nuisance to shoppers, residents and business owners.

The PSPO allows police to issue on-the-spot £100 fines for those consuming alcohol on the streets.

These powers are due to expire next month, but senior councillors are expected to extend the order until 2023 at a meeting next week.

The move comes following feedback from businesses and the public.

A report to the council’s cabinet states: “West Yorkshire Police are supportive of the extension of the PSPO.

“The rationale is that such nuisance and anti-social activities have a significant detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.”

A total of 220 fixed penalty notices for breaching the PSPO in Wakefield have been issued since 2017.

The council is also proposing to extend the zone covered by the PSPO to an area to the south of the city centre, near to the river Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation.

The report says the extension comes following evidence of people drinking alcohol around Chantry Bridge, the Waterfront car park, Fall Ings, and along the riverbank.

“Multiple discarded cans and bottles of alcohol have been found along the riverbank, and it is highly likely this area is also being used as an open toilet.

“As an additional measure to help address these issues, the zoned area is proposed to be extended.”

Last week council leader Denise Jeffery pledged to renew and extend Wakefield’s PSPO in response to business owners in Lower Warrengate reporting how they have been blighted by crime and anti-social behaviour.

They are calling for the council to take action and to stop housing homeless people nearby at Citilodge hotel.

A total of 63 commercial burglaries have been reported in the city centre in the past six months, with some businesses repeatedly being targeted on Wood Street and Northgate.

The report also says: “The anti-social behaviour team and the police believe that an extension to the PSPO is proportionate and will reduce the impact of the anti-social behaviour related to street drinking and the consumption of other intoxicating substances, which is having a detrimental effect on the community.

“The results following the public consultation indicate that the public would like the PSPO to be extended for a further three years.”