Have your say on plans to tackle street drinking and illegal substance use in Worksop and Retford town centres

Bassetlaw District Council is carrying out a consultation on proposed public space protection orders (PSPOs) aimed at addressing anti-social behaviour arising from alcohol consumption and the use of illegal substances.

The Council has made this order as people have been found persistently gathering in the town centres and acting in a manner which has had a ‘detrimental effect on the quality of life’ of residents, causing nuisance, annoyance, harassment, alarm and distress to those nearby.

The activities have caused those living and visiting the town centres to make complaints both to the council and the police, and traders to worry it is driving business away.

Breaching the order is a criminal offence and it allows the police or council to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100.

However, should the matter be taken to court and following a successful conviction, magistrates have the power to order the offender to pay a fine of up to £1,000.

The Council is proposing new PSPOs to replace those that were originally introduced to Worksop and Retford Town Centres in June 2016 and extended again in 2019.

Some of the things the Council is proposing are:

- to ban being under the influence of illegal substances.

- to ban street drinking.

- to extend the designated area of the PSPOs in Worksop to include the area around McDonalds on Retford Road and the area around the Travelodge and Services at St Anne’s.

Councillor Julie Leigh, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at Bassetlaw District Council, said: “Public Space Protection Orders are a valuable tool in tackling Anti-Social Behaviour and we are proposing a number of changes to the ones in Worksop and Retford.

“This will make it easier to take action against street drinking, those under the influence of illegal substances and those causing nuisance, harm and distress.

“These are issues that are important to residents and visitors and we want to ensure that members of the public feel safe when visiting our town centres.

“The consultation will be open for six weeks and I encourage everybody to have their say.”

The consultation and a full list of the proposed prohibitions, draft orders and maps of the designated areas for the Worksop and Retford can be found online at www.bassetlaw.gov.uk/pspo.

The Worksop Draft Public Spaces Protection Order survey can be found here.

The Retford Draft Public Spaces Protection Order survey can be found here.

Paper copies are available from Retford and Worksop Town Halls.

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