Final go-ahead for borough-wide PSPO across Haringey

Councillors had requested a review but Haringey Council has now confirmed the public spaces protection order will start from May this year, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Tottenham Copwatch (inset) opposed the borough-wide PSPO plans

A controversial borough-wide public spaces protection order (PSPO) has been given the go-ahead in Haringey following a review.

The order will come into force in May, for three years, and will see people fined for certain behaviours including public urination, pavement riding, and lighting fireworks in restricted spaces.

Fines for breaching the order’s six prohibited behaviours can be a fixed penalty notice of £100, but if the charge goes to court,can reach up to £1,000.

First approved on 10th December, the decision was called-in earlier this month after councillors were concerned the order would likely cause “significant risk of harm” especially to homeless people.

The decision was reviewed by the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on 14th January and three recommendations were made, and the decision referred back to cabinet.

However, on Tuesday (21st) the cabinet voted to confirm its original decision. Therefore, on 1st May the three-year order is set to come into effect.

However, Matt White, chair of the overview and scrutiny committee, highlighted councillors’ concerns to the cabinet.

Cllr White said the committee’s councillors were “particularly struck” by a deputation from Jon Glackin, a former rough sleeper who works for Streets Kitchen, a grassroots organisation that supports those experiencing homelessness.

Currently the order exempts verified homeless sleepers but Jon pointed out the difficulties in becoming verified.

Cllr White said: “He [Jon] pointed out how difficult it was to get homeless people to engage with anyone [due to fears of deportation or being forced to return to an unsafe area].”

This included anyone perceived to be in a position of authority such as outreach workers, the police and the home office.

“He told us having a PSPO in place makes rough sleepers less likely to engage and therefore less likely to get the verified status that would give them exemption.”

This concern informed the committee’s first recommendation which was to expand those who were exempt from the order to include all rough sleepers.

The second recommendation was around “seeking evidence” the council’s antisocial and behaviour (ASB) team would work in “lock step” with the homelessness outreach team so there was a “co-ordinated approach”.

Cllr White added: “Finally, committee members had concerns about further penalising public urination in the context of a severe shortage of public toilet facilities.

“They felt implementing this punitive approach before developing a forthcoming toilet strategy was putting the cart before the horse and posed a risk of further penalising people who may be left with no other option than to look for the most discrete way to relieve themselves.”

The cabinet member for housing and planning, Sarah Williams, in response to the committee’s verification concerns, said: “We understand that needs are complex and not everyone will want to share their details with a public body like the council, police, or home office.

“Through the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), system, we can anonymise referrals removing a barrier to those who are undocumented or have reservations about sharing their data.”

Cabinet member for communities Ajda Ovat said where there was toilet provision public urination “still occurs” listing football games as a particular hotspot and added new public toilets at Bruce Grove were “due to open” this year.

Cllr Ovat insisted the council practised a “joined up approach” when it came tackling ASB and urged the council to reject the recommendations and adopt the original decision made on 10th December.

She added: “The reason we brought this to cabinet is the council receives on average just over 700 ASB reports per month and over 65% reports dealt with by the team relate to misuse of public spaces. “

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