Authority plans anti-social behaviour clampdown

A plan to clampdown on anti-social behaviour in a town, including aggressive begging and street drinking, could be rolled out if backed by councillors.

Reading council wants to introduce a borough-wide public spaces protection order (PSPO), which the authority said will make it easier to stop nuisance and is supported by police.

It said it knew of 116 reports of aggressive begging in the Berkshire town between June and December last year, with a "very small cohort" of people regularly targeting vulnerable people for money.

The borough council said it has learned from using a PSPO between 2018 and 2021, which it said was "not as effective as had been hoped" because of a lack of enforcement.

It said "problematic street drinking" is "prevalent" across the town and that the PSPO would help council staff and police enforce rules on street drinking which they are currently "unable to do".

The order would also help the council stop and prevent dog fouling across Reading's 20 parks and other informal open spaces, the authority said.

It said it would use it as an "additional tool" to stop anti-social behaviour and would be used first as a "preventative measure…to request that the behaviour is stopped before a breach occurs".

The council hopes the anti-social use of e-scooters and e-bikes – which it said is the "most commonly complained about issue across the borough – could also be alleviated by the PSPO.

Councillors will be asked for their opinions on the potential rollout at a meeting on Wednesday.

If approved, a consultation on the measures could start on 21 July, with feedback with the police potentially completed by the end of October.

A report could be referred back to councillors by mid-November.

You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook and X.