Council asks you for thoughts on final PSPO order that ‘strikes a balance’ between ‘enforcement’ and ‘providing support to vulnerable individuals’

Wrexham Council say they are considering continuing with the Wrexham Town Centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), and are now consulting further on the final order.

More than 730 people took part in a recent consultation over whether a PSPO is still needed to tackle anti-social behaviour in the town.

The previous order was introduced back in 2016 when issues in the town and the Rhosddu area were seen to be at their height. Both orders lasted three years and lapsed over the summer.

The council have said, “We went out to the public to see what they thought of the PSPO, whether or not it needed changing, and if it needed renewing. We had more than 700 responses to the consultation (736 in total), and the majority of those responding were in agreement with our proposals to renew the PSPO.

“But some of those who took part wanted some further details and clarity on what we’d proposed, so they could provide a more informed view.

“So with that in mind, we’ve gone out with some more detail on the proposals put forward, and have included the conditions we have included in the proposed PSPO.”

Although the specific summary of responses is not public the information states “there was much reference to people being fearful in the town centre and the homelessness and substance misuse issues that are visible in the town centre”.

The ‘open’ section of the previous consultation “…indicated a general consensus that effective and well-resourced enforcement would be key to the success of the PSPO.  However, responses also noted this should be balanced alongside more holistic, support focus on individuals.”

The old PSPO order is viewable for now here, and the new proposed order is here. The documents appear much the same, but elements of the order have changed eg. “No person shall sleep within Wrexham Bus Station in King’s Street, and any public toilet facilities during the hours of darkness” is no longer present however a new section starting ‘Any person is prohibited from begging…’ is included.

It appears there is no change to the area covered by the map.

The only question on the consultation asks you for your thoughts on the new document.

The council released data states 45 councillors did not take part (however they could have taken part as individuals) and that “The vast majority of respondents were supportive of each of the proposed conditions.”

The council have said in reference to the new consultation, “We also want to make sure that everyone feels safe in Wrexham town centre, and that the area is free from anti-social behaviour – we know from the first round of the consultation that many members of the public don’t feel safe when coming to the town centre.

“So we have to strike a balance between making sure enforcement powers are in place, and providing support to vulnerable individuals to help them through problems like addiction or rough sleeping.”

The consultation also contains the below graph showing the level of anti social behaviour reported to North Wales Police between April 2014 and August 2019.

Any new order could come in from November 1st this year and be in place until 2022.

The council say the consultation is live via the usual http://www.yourvoicewrexham.net platform, however at the time of writing is not findable via the front page, or sub pages of ‘coming up’ or live consultations.