Issue - meetings

Public Question

A member of the public made the following points:

     i.        It was hard to separate tourism from touting.

    ii.        Expressed concern that a ban on touts had been successful so they morphed into walking tours to avoid the ban.

   iii.        There appeared to be limited enforcement action being taken against walking tours. Queried if the Council could join up with other agencies eg the Police.

  iv.        Tour operators saw fines (if caught) as business costs due to the high profits they could make.

   v.        Queried if changes to pedestrian areas could design out the tour/tout problem.

  vi.        There were 31 designated places to sell services, enforcement should be undertaken to ensure only these were used.

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

     i.        The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) had been successful.

    ii.        It would be reviewed in summer 2019.

   iii.        She was unclear if the PSPO could be extended to cover walking tours or punt touts.

  iv.        Undertook to liaise with the member of the public after the meeting.

   v.        The Executive Councillor for Communities was part of the Cambridge BID. Cambridge BID and the City Council acknowledged residents were affected by tourism issues and were looking at options to address these.

 

The Safer Communities Manager said:

     i.        Tours were outside the remit of the PSPO and Community Safety Officers.

    ii.        The PSPO only covered verbally advertised punt tours. It was aimed at stopping anti-social behaviour not walking tours per se.

   iii.        The PSPO could not be changed without substantial public consultation and in effect a new PSPO being put in place.

 

Matter for Decision

The Public Spaces Protection Order (Touting) 2016 (“Order”) is due to expire on the 14 September 2016. At Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee in October 2018 the Executive Councillor made the decision to review the Order in 2019 in advance of the Order reaching its three year maximum duration.

 

At any point before expiry of the Order, the Council can extend it by up to three years if they consider it is necessary to prevent the original behaviour from occurring or recurring. They should consult with the local police and any other community representatives they think appropriate before doing so.

 

The Officer’s report revisits the terms of the Order (Appendix A), reviews its impact, considers the results of the consultation carried out with police, community leaders and interested parties and, considers the case for extending the Order for a further three years.

 

The responses to consultations are examined and recommendations are made for the Executive Councillor regarding the extension of the Order and other issues raised during the consultation process.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Transport and

Community Safety

     i.        Approved the extension of the Order, in its current form as set out in Appendix A of the Officer’s report, for a further duration of three years to 15 September 2022.

    ii.        Agreed to address the issues raised through the consultation process by:

·        Continuing to enforce breaches of the Order.

·        Monitoring the situation with regard to how walking tours are being sold.

·        Reviewing the situation with regard to touting outside the restricted area in 2022 when considering the next stages of the Order in the event of an extension being agreed.

·        Asking partners to consider improving the information and signposting to direct visitors to authorised punting stations and updating the voluntary code of practice.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Safer Communities Manager.

 

In response to the report Councillors asked what would be the timescale to get a new PSPO. The Safer Communities Manager said it would be monitored this year (2019), a consultation could be undertaken in the autumn prior to a new PSPO being implemented in 2020. The current PSPO focussed on ASB/nuisance, so there would need to be evidence to justify why walking tours should be included ie walking tours were causing the same kind of nuisance that punt tours used to.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.