Annex B – Survey comments

I hope it will stop people gathering in groups to drink, leaving smashed glass on the pavement and littering empty alcohol cans and bottles on the grass and in the street. I have also seen adult nappies abandoned outside the hospital on the pavement. Please also look at removing the flags that have been attached to the lamp posts on Haxby Road and outside the school. They are intimidating.

This PSPO would help the local residents and visitors who arrive in York by coaches and the area is very untidy and run down.  Not a good first impression of York.  I have seen drunken people lying in the roads when on my way by foot to the hospital.  It is quite worrying and intimidating in broad daylight.  Not a nice area currently to visit.

I fully support any action to make this area less unpleasant and intimidating, for both residents and tourists arriving on coaches.  The past few times I have been in the area I have witnessed really distressing anti-social behaviour.  It cannot be good for local people, businesses or York's reputation as a whole. 

A condition of removal of groups of 3 or more people who are causing antisocial behaviour would be unlawful as there is already a power available under Part III of the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 and in order to demonstrate a condition of a PSPO the Council must be satisfied that the condition is necessary. I would urge the Council to look at the data and determine why they have come up with the number 3 are people in 2's not causing ASB but when a third joins them this causes problems? What is the data on size of groups that demonstrates this condition is necessary? I would also ask how many Community Protection Notices have been served in regards to this issue that demonstrates that it is so widespread that justifies the restriction put upon all subjects visiting the area. I would also ask what other powers have been used by the police to deal with this issue? How many dispersals have been issued and how many of these have been successful and unsuccessful. Furthermore I would recommend that any condition if imposed details what constitutes antisocial behaviour as there are 3 definitions within the meaning of antisocial behaviour within Section 2 of the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. In relation to the ban on drinking, a PSPO was in place for this area from 2022 to 2025 requiring the surrender of alcohol, to warrant the necessity of upping the restrictions to a ban it would be expected that there has been an escalation in the problem and that the conditions in the PSPO were not sufficient. I would ask that consideration as to the number of times powers were recorded to be used and the number of prosecutions and fixed penalties issued in this area are considered when deciding the necessity of this condition. I would also suggest that if the conditions had got worse the Council would not have let the PSPO lapse in 2025.