Horsham council plans crackdown on aggressive street sellers, buskers, alcohol and ‘legal highs’

It includes proposals to ban people from using ‘legal highs’ - such as nitrous oxide canisters.

And it includes plans to ban unlicensed buskers from the town centre and the selling of ‘prize competition periodicals.’

It is also proposed to ban nuisance behaviour in car parks and stairwells, along with a ban on drinking alcohol in The Causeway and in Horsham’s Garden of Remembrance.

The moves are being put forward by Horsham District Council as part of a new Public Spaces Protection Order aimed at curbing nuisance behaviour.

But the council is first asking for people’s views before it takes any action.

There is currently a Public Spaces Protection Order in force across the district which was introduced in April 2018 but it expires at the end of March next year.

The existing order prohibits nuisance behaviour relating to alcohol, antisocial use of vehicles, dog fouling, lack of control of dogs, and the racing of horse drawn vehicles on any dual carriageway, including the A24 and A264.

Now the council is proposing to add the extra prohibitions before the order is renewed. It says unlicensed buskers could face fines and says it has allso received complaints from the public about companies purporting to be charities using ‘aggressive sales tactics and misleading information’ to sell prize tickets.

But it adds that legitimate selling work, such as sales of the Big Issue, would not be affected.

The council says there have also been ‘numerous complaints’ about young people drinking alcohol or using drugs in town centre car parks, along with complaints about people being drunk and gathering on benches in the Causeway and the Gardens of Remembrance.

Horsham council cabinet member for community matters Tricia Youtan said: “The current PSPO has had a positive effect on addressing antisocial behaviour in our district and we hope that not only will we get support to continue for a further three years, but also that we can include additional prohibitions to make the district a safer and better place to live.”

An online public consultation will be live on the council’s website www.horsham.gov.uk/pspoconsultation from January 1-31 January 2021 for people to share their views. People can also email [email protected] to request a paper version be sent in the post.