Key Points
- The Royal Borough of Greenwich is consulting residents, businesses and visitors on whether its Public Space Protection Orders should be renewed and amended.
- The current orders cover behaviour including foul and abusive language, threatening or intimidating conduct, drug use, pavement scooter riding, aggressive or persistent begging, and sexual or gender-based comments.
- The consultation is open until July 22, while the current orders are due to expire on October 31.
- Greenwich Council says the orders give the council and police extra powers, including immediate £100 fines, Community Protection Warnings, Community Protection Notices and targeted patrols.
- Councillor Joshua Ayodele said the council issued more than 2,800 Fixed Penalty Notices for PSPO breaches between January 2023 and December 2025.
Greenwich (South London News) June 29, 2026 — The Royal Borough of Greenwich has launched a consultation on its Public Space Protection Orders, asking residents, businesses and visitors whether the current rules should be renewed or changed, and how anti-social behaviour in public spaces should be tackled more effectively.
As reported by Tom Appleby of the source material provided, the council wants people to share their experiences of anti-social behaviour and suggest ways the authority can respond more efficiently.
The request is framed around the future of the borough’s existing PSPOs, which are due to expire on October 31.
The consultation is intended to gather views on both the current scope of the orders and possible amendments.
In practical terms, that means the council is not only asking whether the orders should continue, but also whether their reach should be widened, narrowed or otherwise adjusted.
What do the current PSPOs cover?
The borough’s existing PSPOs cover a range of behaviour the council says can affect the public. These include foul and abusive language, threatening or intimidating behaviour, drug use, riding scooters on the pavement, aggressive or persistent begging, and making sexual or gender-based comments.
PSPOs are designed to give the council and police extra powers where a person’s actions are considered problematic for the wider public. That can include formal warnings, notices and financial penalties where the behaviour breaches the rules in place.
The current consultation suggests the council wants to test whether those categories still reflect the main concerns reported by people who live in, work in or visit Greenwich.
The process also leaves room for respondents to point to issues not currently covered, provided they can explain why they matter in local public spaces.
Why is the council reviewing them now?
Greenwich Council is reviewing the orders before they expire later this year. The consultation is open until July 22, giving residents and other stakeholders a window to comment before the council decides what happens next.
Councillor Joshua Ayodele, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Integrated Enforcement, said the PSPO element is “a fundamental element” of the council’s work to make Greenwich safe and secure for residents. He added that the authority wants to know whether the orders remain effective and what more can be done.
Ayodele also said the council issued more than 2,800 Fixed Penalty Notices for breaches of the PSPOs between January 2023 and December 2025, which he described as evidence that the measures have been effective.
He said the council now wants views from people who frequently interact with public spaces so the orders can continue to address local concerns and help manage anti-social behaviour.
What powers do the orders give?
Under the current system, PSPOs can be enforced through an immediate £100 fine in some cases, along with Community Protection Warnings and Community Protection Notices. They can also be backed by targeted patrols in known problem areas.
These powers are intended to deal with behaviour that affects the general public rather than isolated disputes.
In other words, the council is using them as a public-space enforcement tool, not simply as a general disciplinary measure.
The consultation paper suggests Greenwich wants feedback on whether these tools are being used in the right way and whether they remain suitable for current conditions.
That matters because public-space enforcement often depends on local support, clear definitions and consistent application.
How should the consultation be understood?
This consultation should be seen as part of a routine but significant review of local enforcement powers. The council is asking whether the existing balance between public safety, community confidence and personal freedoms is still right for the borough.
The wording of the consultation also shows that Greenwich is looking for lived experience, not just broad approval or opposition.
That means responses may influence both the exact language of future orders and the practical way they are enforced on the ground.
For residents, the process matters because it can shape what behaviour is challenged in parks, streets and other public spaces.
For businesses and visitors, it may affect how safe and orderly those spaces feel, as well as how visible enforcement becomes in busy areas.
What happens next?
The consultation remains open until July 22, after which the council can review the feedback before deciding whether to renew the existing PSPOs, alter them, or pursue another approach. The current orders remain in place until their expiry on October 31.
If the council chooses to renew them, the final version could keep the existing categories, amend them, or add further detail depending on the responses received.
If it chooses to change the orders substantially, that may also affect how officers and police respond to complaints about behaviour in public spaces.
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Background
Public Space Protection Orders are local powers used by councils to address behaviour that has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of people in a public area. Greenwich says the orders help it and the police take action where conduct becomes disruptive or intimidating.
The council’s current consultation indicates that it wants to test whether the orders still reflect current community concerns.
It also wants to know whether residents, businesses and visitors believe the present approach is working well enough to justify renewal in its current form.
Prediction
For residents in Greenwich, a renewed or expanded PSPO regime could mean more visible enforcement in public areas and a stronger response to anti-social behaviour.
For businesses, that may be positive if it helps make shopping streets and transport routes feel safer and more orderly, but it could also increase scrutiny of day-to-day activity in shared spaces.
For visitors, the likely effect is a clearer set of rules and a stronger expectation of acceptable conduct in public places, especially if the council decides to keep the current categories and enforcement tools in place.
