City Council Officers Given New Powers To Crack Down On Anti-Social Behaviour

New powers to crack down on a range of anti-social behaviour across the city have been given to City of Cardiff Council officers. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The new enforcement powers will allow City Council officers to take swifter action for a range of offences which are affecting the cleanliness of the city’s streets and which are currently going unpunished. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Among the possible offences which people could be fined for are:
• Illegal advertising signage and flyers appearing on lamp-posts, railings and other sites;
• Overloaded skips on the highway;
• A-frames, tables and chairs cluttering city streets without permission;
• Parking on grass verges
• Control of dogs in public spaces
• Litter and nuisance caused by litter. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

At their meeting on Thursday, March 16, Council Cabinet members agreed to give officers authority to use the new powers. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Bob Derbyshire, said: “These issues repeatedly appear when we talk to people on the doorstep or when we undertake public consultation. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Residents want to see a cleaner city and they are happy to see us fine people who are going out of their way to make a mess of it. There are a whole range of new powers available to us now. They will give us the chance to act decisively and to move quickly to put an end to some of the poor behaviour which is causing issues for other residents.
“Hopefully, once those people who seem intent on making a mess of our beautiful city realise that we are serious about cleaning up Cardiff then they will clean up their act too.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The City Council will also seek to use Public Space Protection Orders moving forward. The report recommends introducing pilot schemes to tackle agreed anti-social behaviour issues. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Examples of Public Space Protection Orders include:
• Areas where dogs would be required to be on a lead;
• Control over the groups of youths gathering together in a specific area of concern;
• Control over parking on grass verges
• Control of vehicle access to roads next to schools during drop-off times. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​