Protecting Parks & Open Spaces

One of the annual invasions of Preston Park

From April this year new powers to deal with specific anti-social behaviour will start to be enforced in the following 12 parks and open spaces:-

• The seafront including the A259 from Black Rock to Hove Lagoon.
• The Greenway (adjacent to New England Quarter) 
• Hollingbury Park 
• Lawn Memorial Cemetery and adjacent land (Woodingdean) 
• Preston Park 
• Rottingdean Recreation Ground 
• Sheepcote Valley and East Brighton Park 
• St Helen's Park 
• Stanmer Park 
• Surrenden Field 
• Waterhall 
• Wild Park

These Public Space Protections Orders (PSPOs) were approved in July 2106 following a public consultation earlier in the year. The PSPOs remain in force for a maximum of three years.

The PSPOs cover anti-social activities in the areas including people living in vehicles and tents, driving on the grass, defecating, lighting fires and fly-tipping.

Where they apply, the PSPOs impose prohibitions on:

• Occupying any vehicle, caravan, tent or other structure
• Driving any vehicle on grass
• Littering or fly tipping
• Lighting or maintaining a fire
• Defecating or urinating

On request by an authorised officer, police officer or PCSO, anyone challenged needs to:

• remove any vehicle, caravan, tent or other structure within 12 hours
• dispose of items as directed
• permit a council, police or fire officer to extinguish a fire
• provide a name, address and date of birth when required to do so by a council or police officer

Breaching a Public Space Protection Order is a criminal offence. and may result in a fixed penalty notice of up to £100 or prosecution and, on conviction, a fine of up to £1,000.