Clacton town centre has become a much more welcoming place to visit thanks to a successful order banning street drinkers.

Clacton’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which was first introduced in 2007, has been used to clamp down on troublemakers and antisocial behaviour, including street drinking and persistent begging.

The order, which has been regularly reviewed, was extended by Tendring District Council (TDC) for another three years ahead of the busy summer visitor season - and will now include the ‘gardens’ area in east Clacton.

As well as banning some activities – including persistent begging, drug taking, or loitering likely to cause anti-social behaviour – the order allows authorised officers from Essex Police and TDC to confiscate open containers of alcohol and disperse large groups.

Failing to follow the order is an offence in itself, and people can be fined or taken to court.

A number of amendments to the original order have been approved by TDC’s Cabinet.

They include the following:

• No person shall urinate, defecate, or spit within the public restricted area
• No tent or other structures like a tree, wall, fence, pole, booth, or gate be used anywhere within the restricted area shall be erected unless prior authorisation is sought and agreed by the Council.
• All persons are prohibited from behaving in a way that cause nuisance, harassment, alarm or distress to a member or members of the public.

The new areas to be included in the Clacton Town Centre PSPO are Lancaster Gardens West, Lancaster Gardens East, Albany Gardens West, Albany Gardens East, Connaught Gardens West, Connaught Gardens East and Beatrice Road.

Gina Placey, TDC’s cabinet member for Partnerships, said the changes have been made as a result of feedback from the local community.

“We have listened to residents and businesses and the alterations to the order reflect their concerns,” Councillor Placey said.

“The order has proved effective in helping to cut down on street-drinking and antisocial behaviour in Clacton in recent years – the town centre has become a much more welcoming place to visit for both residents and visitors.

“We now need to tackle the perception that lingers, so if you haven’t been to the town centre in a while, come down and see for yourself.

“We want to ensure people always have a great experience when visiting Clacton and the PSPO will continue to help us do that, alongside joint patrols between our Anti-Social Behaviour Officers and our police colleagues.

“The PSPO will continue to help us to improve quality of life for our residents while championing our local environment as well as attracting visitors and encouraging them to stay longer.”

New signs are being installed in the newly designated areas stating the restrictions that are now in place.

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