Agenda item

To be moved by Councillor Tinsley and seconded by Councillor Z. Collingham:

Byelaws are local laws that govern what can and cannot be done in a public area, with a fine for contravening the byelaw. Byelaws can be displayed on notices and enforced by an officer of the local authority or by the police, through magistrates’ court.

Byelaws do not create additional work for council enforcement officers and police, but instead give these another tool to use when they encounter problems or anti-social behaviour in our communities. It is expected that they would use their discretion when a byelaw is broken.

Rotherham Council has enacted byelaws covering Ulley Country Park, Thrybergh Country Park, Rother Valley Country Park and the Good Rule and Government of the Borough, but these byelaws are old and have limited scope (see example in Appendix A).

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes a series of ‘model byelaws’ which local authorities can use to address issues not sanctioned by other legislation. It is intended that local authorities delete / add to the model byelaws to ensure they are locally relevant. Examples of model byelaws and some of the issues they can address are:

·       Pleasure grounds, public walks and open spaces: This can be enacted in parks and other public spaces to protect plants and wildlife from harm; prohibit the damage or misuse of life saving equipment; prohibit fires; regulate horse riding, cycling, and vehicles; determine acceptable use of play equipment; and/or prohibit swimming.

·       Pleasure fairs: This can be enacted to regulate the opening hours, cleanliness, provision of toilets, etc of fairgrounds.

·       Good rule and government: This can be enacted across the borough to prohibit the damage or misuse of life saving equipment; prohibit dangerous games near roads; prohibit driving or parking on road margins/verges; and/or prohibit urination in public (Appendix B)

·       Markets: This can be enacted to regulate markets, including market days and hours, prohibiting vehicle obstruction, and/or enforcing cleanliness.

Therefore, this Council resolves to:

1.    Review existing byelaws with a view to revoking and replacing them as appropriate.

2.    Bring forward a draft byelaw or byelaws to prohibit removing, displacing, damaging or otherwise interfering with lifesaving equipment across the borough.

3.    Consider enacting new byelaws to prohibit other specific undesirable behaviour in public spaces.

4.    Consult with police, councillors, parish and town councils, and other partners to identify behaviours and public spaces where byelaws could be useful and complete this consultation process within four months.

5.    Implement a regular system of review for local byelaws, to ensure byelaws are revoked and/or replaced when they are no longer useful.

6.    Where it is thought that a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would be a more effective tool than a byelaw, proceed with a PSPO.

It was moved by Councillor Tinsley and seconded by Councillor Z. Collingham:

Byelaws are local laws that govern what can and cannot be done in a public area, with a fine for contravening the byelaw. Byelaws can be displayed on notices and enforced by an officer of the local authority or by the Police, through Magistrates’ Court.

Byelaws do not create additional work for Council Enforcement Officers and Police, but instead give these another tool to use when they encounter problems or anti-social behaviour in our communities. It is expected that they would use their discretion when a byelaw is broken.

Rotherham Council has enacted byelaws covering Ulley Country Park, Thrybergh Country Park, Rother Valley Country Park and the Good Rule and Government of the Borough, but these byelaws are old and have limited scope (see example in Appendix A).

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes a series of ‘model byelaws’ which local authorities can use to address issues not sanctioned by other legislation. It is intended that local authorities delete/add to the model byelaws to ensure they are locally relevant. Examples of model byelaws and some of the issues they can address are:

·       Pleasure grounds, public walks and open spaces: This can be enacted in parks and other public spaces to protect plants and wildlife from harm; prohibit the damage or misuse of life saving equipment; prohibit fires; regulate horse riding, cycling, and vehicles; determine acceptable use of play equipment; and/or prohibit swimming.

·       Pleasure fairs: This can be enacted to regulate the opening hours, cleanliness, provision of toilets, etc of fairgrounds.

·       Good rule and government: This can be enacted across the Borough to prohibit the damage or misuse of life saving equipment; prohibit dangerous games near roads; prohibit driving or parking on road margins/verges; and/or prohibit urination in public (Appendix B)

·       Markets: This can be enacted to regulate markets, including market days and hours, prohibiting vehicle obstruction, and/or enforcing cleanliness.

Therefore, this council resolves to:

1.    Review existing byelaws with a view to revoking and replacing them as appropriate.

2.    Bring forward a draft byelaw or byelaws to prohibit removing, displacing, damaging or otherwise interfering with lifesaving equipment across the Borough.

3.    Consider enacting new byelaws to prohibit other specific undesirable behaviour in public spaces.

4.    Consult with Police, Councillors, Parish and Town Councils, and other partners to identify behaviours and public spaces where byelaws could be useful, and complete this consultation process within 4 months.

5.    Implement a regular system of review for local byelaws, to ensure byelaws are revoked and/or replaced when they are no longer useful.

6.    Where it is thought that a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would be a more effective tool than a byelaw, proceed with a PSPO.

It was then moved by Councillor Beck and seconded by Councillor Clark that the motion be amended as follows:

Byelaws are local laws that govern what can and cannot be done in a public area, with a fine for contravening the byelaw. Byelaws can be displayed on notices and enforced by an officer of the local authority or by the Police, through Magistrates’ Court.

Byelaws do not create additional work for Council Enforcement Officers and Police, but instead give these another tool to use when they encounter problems or anti-social behaviour in our communities. It is expected that they would use their discretion when a byelaw is broken.

Rotherham Council has enacted byelaws covering Ulley Country Park, Thrybergh Country Park, Rother Valley Country Park and the Good Rule and Government of the Borough, but these byelaws are old and have limited scope (see example in Appendix A).

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes a series of ‘model byelaws’ which local authorities can use to address issues not sanctioned by other legislation. It is intended that local authorities delete/add to the model byelaws to ensure they are locally relevant. Examples of model byelaws and some of the issues they can address are:

·       Pleasure grounds, public walks and open spaces: This can be enacted in parks and other public spaces to protect plants and wildlife from harm; prohibit the damage or misuse of life saving equipment; prohibit fires; regulate horse riding, cycling, and vehicles; determine acceptable use of play equipment; and/or prohibit swimming.

·       Pleasure fairs: This can be enacted to regulate the opening hours, cleanliness, provision of toilets, etc of fairgrounds.

·       Good rule and government: This can be enacted across the Borough to prohibit the damage or misuse of life saving equipment; prohibit dangerous games near roads; prohibit driving or parking on road margins/verges; and/or prohibit urination in public (Appendix B)

·       Markets: This can be enacted to regulate markets, including market days and hours, prohibiting vehicle obstruction, and/or enforcing cleanliness.

Therefore, this Council resolves to:

INSERT: Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to consider within its work programme the following potential actions, making any recommendations they deem necessary, and require the proposer of this motion to be part of this Scrutiny activity:

1.    Review existing byelaws with a view to revoking and replacing them as appropriate.

2.    Bring forward a draft byelaw or byelaws to prohibit removing, displacing, damaging or otherwise interfering with lifesaving equipment across the Borough.

3.    Consider enacting new byelaws to prohibit other specific undesirable behaviour in public spaces.

4.    Consult with Police, Councillors, Parish and Town Councils, and other partners to identify behaviours and public spaces where byelaws could be useful and complete this consultation process within 4 months.

5.    Implement a regular system of review for local byelaws, to ensure byelaws are revoked and/or replaced when they are no longer useful.

6.    Where it is thought that a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would be a more effective tool than a byelaw, proceed with a PSPO.

The amendment was accepted by Councillor Tinsley without a debate or vote on the matter and, as such, the amendment motion then became the substantive motion.

Resolved:-

On being put to the vote, the motion as amended was declared as carried.

Mover:- Councillor Tinsley                      Seconder:- Councillor Z. Collingham