Agenda item

Public Protection and Community Engagement Portfolio

To consider report CH/181 of the Head of Crawley Homes, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 19 November 2018.

The Cabinet Member for Public Protection and Community Engagement presented report CH181 of the Head of Crawley Homes which sought approval for the making of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to prohibit vehicle related anti-social behaviour associated with car cruise activity in the borough of Crawley.

It was noted that car cruise activity had been taking place in Crawley since 2010.  In the past 3 years the police have received at least 280 complaints of vehicle related anti-social behaviour related to the activity, and it represented a significant nuisance for those residents and businesses affected.  The proposed order would encompass the whole Borough, with the exception of Gatwick Airport and there would be specific signage in the most common areas where car cruising occurs. It noted that public consultation had occurred over the making of the PSPO, with the majority of the responses being in favour of the use of the Order.

Councillor Cheshire presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following their consideration of the matter at its meeting on 19 November 2018. The Cabinet were informed that the Commission had held a comprehensive discussion of the proposal, including seeking clarification over exactly what was classed as a car cruise ‘gathering’ and ‘activities’, and that the purpose of the proposal was not to vilify all those with “a passion for cars”.

Councillor Cheshire then presented the Commission’s three recommendations, namely that there was broad support for the proposals, and that a review report on the effectiveness of the PSPO be produced after 6 months. The final recommendation was that the Cabinet refer the decision to Full Council for their consideration and approval. It was explained that Guidance suggested the decision on approving such an Order could be put to the Cabinet or Full Council and the Commission felt that given that car cruising was a town wide issue it would be more appropriate and open to have all Councillors involved in approving such a decision.

Councillor Crow was invited to speak on the item and he expressed his personal support as there had been numerous car cruising incidents within his ward and he hoped that the PSPO would help end such anti-social behaviour.

In responding to the Commission’s recommendation over to refer the decision to the Full Council, the Leader stated that he would be against this proposal as it would not be in the interest of our residents. Being in mind the number of complaints, the level of nuisance and the dangerous driving, and as there was support by the Commission for installation of the order, it would not be a sensible move to delay the approval of the making of the Order.

Councillors Mullins, P. Smith, Skudder and Jones, all spoke on the report and the Commission’s proposal and echoed the Leader’s view. Comments were also made on the fact that the Manor Royal Business District was fully behind the making of the Order, due to the frequency of car cruising within Manor Royal. On the recommendation of the Commission for an update report on the effectiveness of the Order, the Cabinet commented that they would be in support of such a review, but felt that 12 months would be more appropriate as it would then cover the summer months when incidents of car cruising appeared to be more regular.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet approves:

1.              the making of a Borough wide Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to prohibit vehicle related anti-social behaviour associated with car cruise activity in the borough of Crawley as set out in Appendix A to report CH181 for a period of 3 years. The PSPO to be implemented within 3 months of being agreed, to allow time for signage to be in place.

2.              the level of Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to be issued in respect of PSPO breaches at £100.

3.              thata review report be produced after 12 months of implementation in order to effectively evaluate the impact of the PSPO.

In accordance with Scrutiny Procedure Rule 14, the decision above was  called-in by Councillor Irvine on the grounds that he did not believe that the decisions had been taken in accordance with the following principles as set out in Article 12.2 of the Council’s Constitution:-

(d)  a presumption in favour of openness;

(g) due regard to the statutory framework, guidance and codes of conduct;

Councillor Irvine justified the call-in by stating that LGA guidance provided the option for decisions on Public Space Protection Orders, to be taken at either Cabinet or at Full Council. With the Cabinet rejecting the Commission’s recommendation that the Cabinet defer the decision to Full Council, the Cabinet was not therefore taking ‘due regard to the statutory guidance; and as the Full Council meeting would have included all Councillors taking the decision, rather than just the seven Cabinet Members, the Cabinet were ignoring ‘a presumption in favour of openness.’

Reasons for the Recommendations

The PSPO would enhance public safety through a targeted combined approach of Council services to tackle the problems associated with car cruise activity.  The PSPO is a supplementary power available to the Police and the Local Authority, designed to complement existing enforcement strategies and legislation, whilst regulating specific activities in public places that have a detrimental effect on the local community. 

A PSPO can target a range of behaviours and can prohibit specified activities or require certain things to be done by people engaged in certain activities. PSPOs can send a clear message that certain behaviours will not be tolerated and help reassure residents and businesses that unreasonable conduct is being addressed. The anti-social behaviour that Crawley has experienced from car cruising activity has been no different from these areas. They do not appear to have required a great deal of enforcement to resolve the problem.

Prior to considering a PSPO the Council has undertaken preliminary consultation with partners and stakeholders including the police, West Sussex County Council, Crawley and Gatwick Diamond Business Watch who have all agreed that a PSPO would be helpful to effectively manage this issue and provide a long-term solution across for the town.

NOTE BY HEAD OF LEGAL, DEMOCRACY AND HR: – Councillor Irvine has subsequently emailed the Head of Legal, Democracy and HR withdrawing the Call-in.