The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the legal framework for Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), enabling local authorities to introduce restrictions and prohibitions within designated areas.
A PSPO applies to everyone within the area and is intended to help ensure that public spaces across Warwick District remain safe, welcoming and accessible to the community.
A PSPO may remain in force for a maximum of three years. Before it expires, the Council may extend the order for a further period of up to three years where this is necessary to prevent the original behaviour from continuing or recurring.
PSPOs in Warwick District have been implemented following consultation with the public and key stakeholders, formally approved by the Licensing and Regulatory Committee and sealed by Legal Services.
Statutory challenge period
Following the official sealing of the order, there is a mandatory six-week statutory challenge period. During this period, an appeal can be made by an individual who lives in, regularly works in, or visits the restricted area to contest the validity of the Orders by way of Judicial Review to the High Court. During this time, interested persons can challenge the Orders on the grounds that Warwick District Council did not have the power to make the Orders or to include particular prohibitions or requirements. The High Court can uphold, quash, or vary a Public Spaces Protection Order and may decide to suspend the operation of the Order pending the verdict.
Barring any High Court interventions, the Council plans to launch the new orders on Wednesday, 4 November 2026.
What PSPOs are in Warwick District?
The following anti-social behaviour PSPOs are in place district-wide:
Direction to leave a demarcated location
An authorised officer may direct any individuals to leave a clearly defined location within the district and not return to that location for a period not exceeding 24 hours if (without reasonable excuse).
The authorised officer reasonably believes that the individual's behaviour in that location is:
- Causing or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to members of the public; or
- Contributing to or likely to contribute to crime or disorder in the immediate area.
Public urination and defecation
No person shall urinate or defecate in any public space within the restricted areas, except in a facility designed for that purpose, such as a public toilet.
Harassment in a public space
No person without a reasonable excuse shall be verbally abusive to another person or behave in a way that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person within “the restricted area”. This will include but not be limited to making sexually inappropriate comments or displaying inappropriate behaviours towards any person.
This may include but is not limited to:
- Catcalling
- Wolf whistling
- Following someone
- Flashing or exposing intimate parts
- Non-consensual physical contact
- Sexualised comments
- Discriminatory comments relating to race, gender, sexuality, disability, age, religion or other protected characteristics.
Anti-social riding
No person shall ride bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, mopeds or any other type of motorised bike within the ‘restricted area’ in a manner likely to:
- Cause harassment, alarm, or distress to any other person
- Cause an obstruction to pedestrians, vehicles, access to property or riding on a footpath without a reasonable excuse
Fires, barbecues and fire-causing activities
No person within the restricted area shall:
- Light or cause to be lit any fire, including but not limited to open flames, campfires, bonfires, or fire pits.
- Use or ignite any barbecue, including disposable, portable, or gas barbecues, or any other form of outdoor temporary cooking equipment.
- Place, throw, drop, or spill any object likely to cause a fire, including but not limited to matches, lighters, fireworks, sparklers, flammable liquids, or other incendiary materials.
View the sealed order
Intoxicating substances zone
View the intoxicating substances zone orders.
Dog control orders
View the Dog control orders.