Extension granted for alcohol banning order in Wolverhampton
A ban on drinking alcohol in public parts of a city centre has been extended for three more years.
Members of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet agreed to the extension of the city-wide Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which has been in operation in Wolverhampton since March 2017.
The order gives police powers to stop people from drinking and to surrender alcohol if they causing, or likely to cause, anti-social behaviour.
The extension comes after a recent consultation found overwhelming support for the measures, which have helped bring about a 35 per cent reduction in calls about incidents over the last three years.
There were 1,202 incidents recorded in 2017-18 when the PSPO was first introduced, falling to 781 in 2019-20.
In addition to the city-wide prohibitions, an outright ban on street drinking in St Peter’s and Park wards, including the city centre, has been agreed.
The only exceptions are for licensed premises within these wards which have beer gardens or pavement seating areas, and for temporary public events which have received prior approval from the council’s Licensing team.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said the order had had a very positive impact on reducing the number of alcohol-related incidents since being introduced.
She said: “We want police to continue having these powers which they can use on a discretionary basis to tackle anti-social behaviour linked to alcohol consumption. Over 95 per cent of the 500-plus people who took part in the recent consultation were in favour of the ban order remaining in place.
“It also has the full support of police and will help the council meet its priorities of keeping the city clean and safe.”
The Public Space Protection Order will be reviewed annually.
