Pendle News Room

Problems at this anti-social behaviour hotspot have included drug and alcohol use, burning bins, problems with noise, bad language and people using the area as a toilet.

“Local families wanting to use the Massey Street Play Area often found they couldn’t because it was littered with broken glass, cans, bottles and needles,” explained Pendle Council’s Community Protection Coordinator, Tim Horsley.

“A Protection Order is now in place and local residents say it’s had an impact in improving their quality of life,” he said.

Thanks to the new Public Spaces Protection Order, people will be committing a criminal offence if they:

• fail to stop drinking or hand over alcohol when asked to do so by the Police
• use the restricted area around Massey Street as a toilet
• have previously been involved in anti-social behaviour and enter the children’s play area, or within 10 metres of it, and are not with a child aged up to 10 who’s using the play area
• are in the restricted area and refuse to give their name and address to an authorised officer when asked
• are in a group of four people or more and behaving in an anti-social way and refuse to leave the restricted area when a Police or Council Officer asks them to.

“These offences can lead to a fines of up to £1,000,” warned Tim Horsley.

Leader of Pendle Council, Councillor Paul White, said: “Local residents know that we’ve listened to their concerns and acted on them. 

“This has been a team effort and it’s making a difference.

“Police Officers have stepped up their presence in this area and used their dispersal powers to break up groups of people behaving badly, and that’s helped enormously.

“And we’ve cut back the hedges around the play area so that it’s easier for us all to keep an eye on what’s going on and take action if we need to,” he added.

Notes to editors

The Massey Street area protected by the Public Spaces Protection Order includes the play area and part of Massey Lane, Robinson Lane and Lord Street.

This initial Public Spaces Protection Order will be in place until August 2019 when Pendle Council’s Brierfield and Reedley Committee will review it.

Under this legislation,  Police Officers will be able to accompany an under 16 year old who is in breach of the orders to their home or a place of safety.

Where an under 16 year old is persistently behaving in an anti-social way in this area, their parents will be involved and a Community Protection Notice could be used to tackle their child’s behaviour which is having a negative impact on the local community's quality of life.