Public protection order proposed for whole borough

A map of the proposed Public Space Protection Order

A legal order giving a council and the police greater powers to curb anti-social behaviour could be enforced for an entire borough.

Slough Borough Council is consulting on a new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which would mean police could order people to stop consuming alcohol in public and issue on-the-spot fines of up to £100.

Councillor Iftakhar Ahmed said the order would "make it simpler and easier" to tackle anti-social behaviour in the borough.

The consultation opened on Monday and will run until 12 February.

The proposed PSPO would not ban the consumption of alcohol in public places, but it would make it an offence not to stop or surrender drinks if asked by a council or Thames Valley Police (TVP) officer.

Officers can only ask if they believe anti-social behaviour has, or is likely to, occur.

In addition to the on-the-spot fines, officers could also take rule-breakers to court where fines of up to £1,000 could be handed out.

PSPOs can be used to ban a number of things including begging and drinking

A previous PSPO covering Chalvey ended after three years, in December 2020.

Mr Ahmed said expanding it to cover the whole borough would "make it simpler and easier to enforce and for people to understand".

"It will be part of a toolkit to tackle lower-level behaviour that has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of residents," he said.

Once the consultation is over, the council will review the feedback and then plans to seek approval from the cabinet later in the year.