Wisbech human defecation hotspot alley to be blocked off

The passageway is to be gated after councillors voted for a three-year Public Space Protection Order

A narrow passageway that has become known as a "hotspot" for human defecation, urination and sexual activity in a Fenland town is to be blocked off.

The cut-through between Norfolk Street and West Street in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, is to be gated by Fenland District council.

A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) will restrict access to the alley after a unanimous council vote.

It will be in place for three years.

At a cabinet meeting of the Conservative-led council this week, members were presented with a report stating the passage was a "hotspot for anti-social behaviour, namely litter, urination and defecation with further reports suggesting it has been used for drugs, drinking and sexual activity", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Conservative councillor Steve Count told the cabinet the issue had been taken up after members of Fenland's Community Safety Partnership, which includes local police as well as councillors, spotted a "male person urinating in the passage" during an "environmental audit" of the area. 

Meanwhile, Conservative Samantha Hoy said that "people do go down there and defecate and urinate quite a lot" which, she said, does not "enhance the area at all".

The report stated putting gates on the passage would not cost the council anything as it had made "a successful funding bid through the government's Safer Streets initiative".