Crawley Borough Council clamps down on antisocial behaviour in its town centre car parks

The PSPO was approved during a meeting of the full council and covers the multi-storey car parks at Orchard Street, the Town Hall and Kingsgate.

A report from the council’s community safety officer said: “There have been complaints about antisocial behaviour in the council’s town centre multi-storey car parks.

“The antisocial behaviour is mainly caused by congregating / sleeping in access areas such as stairwells and lift lobbies, drug taking and access for the purpose of criminal activity.”

More than 60 people responded to a public consultation about the PSPO, with 47 of them agreeing it was needed.

One responder said that Orchard Street had become so bad that his female members of staff refused permits to park there.

Another said: “Car parks should be safe for all people. Antisocial behaviour makes people fearful,especially women.”

But another questioned whether services available to help the homeless or addicts – or the options for young people – were adequate.

Leader Michael Jones said: “This decision isn’t about undermining anyone’s civil liberties.

“If you aren’t going in or out of the car park for the legitimate reasons of coming to or going from your car, then you simply have no business being there in the first place.

“In my view, it is absolutely right that we’re seeking to protect users in this way.”

Bob Lanzer (Con, Pound Hill South & Worth) said: “There have been a number of PSPOs introduced in recent times but I think this one is one of the most clear cut in terms of the public feedback that we’ve received.

“We need to react to this public feedback and improve their feelings of safety and wellbeing when using our car parks – and deter the kind of antisocial behaviour which our residents have reported to us.”

The PSPO came into force on February 26 and will run for three years.

It does not cover the Sussex House / former Morrisons car park as that is privately owned.

It is a criminal offence to breach a PSPO and anyone caught doing so can be issued a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100 or a fine of up to £1,000 should the matter go to court.