Outdoor drinking, camper vans, fishing and 'nuisance' skaters facing ban at Seaton Carew seafront and Hartlepool parks

The seafront at Seaton Carew. A consultation is due to launch on banning outdoor drinking and other activities and behaviours in the area, and the town's parks, in order to keep them as places everyone can enjoy.

Hartlepool Borough Council chiefs are looking to bring in two new public spaces protections orders (PSPOs) to help crackdown on the incidents.

PSPOs can be used to prohibit specified activities or require certain things to be done in defined locations in order to stop or prevent antisocial behaviour.

A report is to go before the Neighbourhood Services Committee on Tuesday, which if approved will see a consultation launched on bringing two new orders in.

This includes a consultation on bringing in a ‘drinking alcohol in public PSPO’.

This would prohibit the consumption of alcohol in public, at all times, along Seaton Carew promenade and in identified parks and other public open spaces.

A consultation would also be launched over a ‘Parks PSPO’ which would prohibit riding skateboards, scooters and bicycles where it causes ‘annoyance, nuisance or damage’ in Hartlepool’s parks.

It would also prohibit camping and motorhomes, fishing in certain locations, and unauthorised use of motorised vehicles in the parks.

Sylvia Pinkney, council assistant director for regulatory services, states in her report the PSPOs could help prevent such activities in the designated spaces.

She said: “Public spaces protection orders can offer an additional and effective enforcement tool to tackle persistent antisocial behaviour.

“PSPOs are not intended to be used to tackle specific individuals or properties (other powers exist for such purposes) but rather identified anti-social behaviour problems in known locations.

“If approved by the committee, a comprehensive consultation exercise will be undertaken that meets statutory requirements, which will include the police, the Police & Crime Commissioner and any other bodies considered relevant and appropriate.”

Cllr Lesia Smith and Cllr Sue Little, who both represent Seaton, previously called for a PSPO to be brought in to prevent drinking along Seaton Carew promenade following a number of incidents over the summer.

Speaking in August 2020, Cllr Smith said a ‘dangerous’ amount of litter was left by those drinking, and it can be intimidating for families.

Cllr Little added people had been ‘urinating in the street’ following bars reopening in Seaton for takeaway drinks as lockdown eased, with ‘about 5,000 complaints’ received by the councillors.

The responsibility for the enforcement of PSPOs lies with the police and the council’s civil enforcement team.

The breach of a PSPO is a criminal offence, featuring a maximum £1000 fine, but can be dealt with through the issue of a fixed penalty notice.

The exact penalty amount for a fixed penalty notice can be determined by the local authority and can be set at any value up to £100.

Council officers noted a PSPO does not automatically create an offence of consuming alcohol in a designated area, but the offence occurs where the individual does not comply with a request to stop, or to hand over their alcohol, by an authorised officer.

A decision will be made on launching the consultation for the proposed new PSPOs at the neighbourhood services committee on Tuesday, December 1, from 10am.

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