508 people answered York's city centre PSPO survey and every proposed ban won 87% support or more. Councillors decide on 3 November; what the order would do.
Five new fineable offences inside York’s city walls each won the backing of at least 87% of the people who answered the council’s summer survey. The results are in a draft decision report published for councillors this week.
The council’s Executive is recommended to approve a new three-year city centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) on Tuesday 3 November. Before that, the People Scrutiny Committee examines the plan on Monday 26 October (City of York Council, 21 October 2026).
What the survey found
The consultation ran from 10 August to 18 September. It drew 508 responses, against just 77 when the council last asked in autumn 2025. Most came from people who live in York (79.7%). Business owners made up 7.9%, and people who live elsewhere but visit made up the rest (draft Executive report).
Support for banning each behaviour:
| Proposed ban | Support |
|---|---|
| Disorderly groups | 94.4% |
| Pestering or pursuing | 90.9% |
| Intimidation and coercion | 89.6% |
| Persisting in requests after a refusal | 88.5% |
| Invasion of personal space | 87.8% |
The report sums up the written comments in one line. “The dominant narrative is that residents, visitors and many businesses observe rising anti-social behaviour and increased street drinking, experience growing intimidation and reduced feelings of safety,” it says.
It also records a “significant minority” with worries. They were concerned about:
- criminalising homelessness
- moving the problem elsewhere rather than solving it
- unfair effects on vulnerable people
- whether enforcement would be visible and properly resourced
What the new order would ban
The order would cover the same area as now, inside the city walls. It would not grow. The report says earlier feedback showed confusion over the word “extension”: it means more conditions, not a bigger boundary.
The five new conditions, in the council’s wording, are:
- Intimidation and coercion: pressuring or deliberately intimidating someone into giving money.
- Persisting in requests: continuing to ask for money or food, or pressuring someone, after an initial refusal.
- Pestering or pursuing: following, nagging or blocking someone’s path.
- Invasion of personal space: blocking free passage or a doorway, or standing uncomfortably close, such as beside someone at a cash machine.
- Disorderly groups: groups shouting or behaving aggressively, disruptively or drunkenly in a way likely to make someone nearby fear disorder, abuse or a confrontation.
A “group” now has a definition. The draft order says it means three or more people acting together or sharing a common purpose. Someone merely standing nearby is not part of it. When the council first floated the idea last December, the threshold was two or more.
The existing alcohol ban, renewed in December 2025, would be copied into the new order. The old order would then be left to run out in 2028.
Breaking the order would be a criminal offence. It could bring a fixed penalty notice or, if prosecuted, a fine of up to £1,000. The current city walls order carries a £100 fixed penalty; the report does not set a new amount.
Warnings first, fines last
The report says enforcement would not be the first response. Officers would start with advice and a warning. People whose behaviour may be linked to homelessness, drug or alcohol use would be referred to support services.
A fine or prosecution would come only where a warning has not worked, the behaviour is repeated, or it is serious enough to need it. Officers would be trained to spot vulnerability, and use of the powers would be monitored.
What the police and others said
The Deputy Mayor for policing and the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police both support the order, with conditions.
The Deputy Mayor asked that enforcement be “intelligence-led” and balanced with help for vulnerable people, and that its use be scrutinised so it does not criminalise homelessness or poverty.
The Chief Constable went further on alcohol. His response says the alcohol rules are largely reactive, letting officers act only once disorder has happened. He expressed disappointment that York has not adopted the stronger alcohol restrictions used in other places. The council’s answer is that the alcohol condition was renewed last December and is not due for review until 2028.
Other voices in the report:
- York BID gave the measures its “strong support”, saying partners often identify the right response but lack the powers to act.
- Carecent, the breakfast centre for homeless and vulnerable people, hosted a drop-in. Its users felt any problems involved a minority of the street community, and that their behaviour should be dealt with.
The figures behind it
The report includes city centre police data for the last four years. Recorded crime overall fell, but anti-social behaviour rose.
| Inside the city centre | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All crime | 3,692 | 3,664 | 3,913 | 3,560 |
| Anti-social behaviour incidents | 1,045 | 1,223 | 1,410 | 1,273 |
| Violence | 1,507 | 1,355 | 1,383 | 1,507 |
| Shoplifting | 566 | 839 | 1,026 | 769 |
| Robbery | 23 | 27 | 23 | 65 |
Anti-social behaviour was 21.8% higher in 2025-26 than in 2022-23. Robbery nearly trebled, from a low base. The report is careful to say the figures “do not in themselves establish” that the behaviours in the order caused those trends.
What it means for you
- Want to speak at scrutiny? The deadline to register for the 26 October meeting is 5pm today, Thursday 22 October, through york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings. The meeting starts at 5.30pm at West Offices and is webcast at york.gov.uk/webcasts.
- The decision is on 3 November. The full papers are on the committee page.
- Nothing changes yet. Until a new order is made, only the alcohol conditions apply inside the walls.
- How the plan changed: our story on the consultation sets out how these five conditions replaced last December’s begging ban and 24-hour exclusion idea.
Sources
- City of York Council: Scrutiny to look at outcomes of PSPO consultation, 21 October 2026
- Draft Executive report: Extension of Restrictions Included in the City Centre PSPO, for 3 November 2026
- People Scrutiny Committee, 26 October 2026: agenda and papers
- City of York Council: current city walls PSPO
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