Public Spaces Protection Order (Aldershot)

About Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs)

PSPOs are aimed at making sure our public spaces can be enjoyed by everyone, free from antisocial behaviour. 

They are part of a range of powers to help tackle antisocial behaviour in a local area. They are not about stopping people enjoying themselves, but they do provide us with another way to help deal with ongoing issues that can damage our communities.

Our Public Spaces Protection Order

Following consultation with the public and agencies including Hampshire Constabulary, our PSPO for Aldershot Town Centre was approved by our Cabinet on Tuesday 7 June 2022.

The Public Spaces Protection Order (Aldershot town centre) started from 20 July 2022 and runs for 3 years.

You will be in breach of the PSPO if you: 

1. Fail to comply when an authorised officer, who reasonably believes you have engaged in antisocial behaviour, directs you not to drink alcohol, or anything the officer reasonably believes to be alcohol 
2. Fail to hand over a container, which an authorised officer reasonably believes has alcohol in it (whether open or not), when asked to do so
3. Urinate or defecate in a public place, other than when making use of facilities designed as toilets

Authorised council officers or police can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice fine for £100 if you fail to comply with an officer’s request to stop drinking or hand over alcohol, or for urinating or defecating in a public place.  

Your payment for the fine is due within 14 days, and the fine is reduced to £75 if paid within 10 days. We will prosecute people who do not pay the fine within 14 days.

Under section 66 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 there is a right to apply to the High Court questioning the validity of this Order within a period of six weeks from the date of the order.

Area covered by our Public Spaces Protection Order

The area includes Aldershot town centre, including Municipal Gardens and Aldershot railway station. Please view the map below for more details. 

Pay a fixed penalty notice

If you have received a PSPO fine you can pay it online or by phone. You will need to provide us with your fixed penalty notice reference number. You can find this on the top of your ticket.

You can also pay a PSPO fine by calling our customer services team on 01252 398 399 and asking to pay for a fine.

How a PSPO helps tackle antisocial behaviour

A PSPO can be made where we are satisfied that there is behaviour which has a persistent or continuing detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the local area. 

We can only impose restrictions which are reasonable and justified. We have designed our PSPO to make sure the law-abiding majority can use and enjoy public spaces, without experiencing alcohol related antisocial behaviour.  

These powers are not intended to disrupt peaceful activities and are used explicitly for addressing nuisance or annoyance associated with alcohol drinking in a public place or public urination and defecation.  

Our PSPO will allow police and authorised officers to ask individuals to stop drinking and to confiscate their alcoholic drinks, if they consider they are acting antisocially. It is an offence to fail to comply with a request to stop drinking or surrender alcohol, including any opened or sealed containers, in the area covered by the PSPO. 

A PSPO cannot be used to restrict the consumption of alcohol where premises are licensed for the supply of alcohol, as licensing laws already include safeguards against premises becoming associated with nuisance and antisocial behaviour. 

How the PSPO is enforced

• The police or authorised council officers can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice for £100 for failing to comply with an officer's request to stop drinking and hand over the alcohol, or for urinating or defecating in a public place
• Payment of the Fixed Penalty Notice discharges liability to conviction for the offence 
• Breach of a PSPO is a criminal offence with a maximum fine of £1,000 (level three fine) on prosecution  
• The police will work in partnership with us to make sure the proposed PSPO is enforced effectively