February 26, 2018 8.56 pm This story is over 72 months old

Lincoln council renews ban on alcohol and drugs in city centre

Lincoln keep its historic ban in the city centre.

City of Lincoln Council’s executive renewed a ban on alcohol and drugs consumption in the city centre area.

Councillors voted to retain the public space protection order (PSPO) for a further three years at a meeting of the executive on Monday night.

Lincoln made history in 2015 by becoming the first city in the UK to introduce a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which made illegal the consumption of what was previously known as ‘legal highs’ and alcohol in public.

The executive voted to retain the order in its current format, opting against including homelessness and begging.

A blanket ban on new psychoactive substances was introduced across the country in May 2016, nearly 14 months after Lincoln first brought in the order.

Francesca Bell, public protection, anti-social behaviour and licensing service manager at the council, previously said: “There was discussion as to whether or not the PSPO should be changed to include anti-social behaviour relating to vagrancy, begging and homelessness in the city.

“We have looked at the way other authorities in the UK have dealt with this and feel that to deal with the issues effectively we need to understand why the individuals engage in this type of behaviour.

“With this in mind we will be looking to work with partners to take a more joined-up approach to addressing the root causes of the behaviour.

“The PSPO remains a useful tool for dealing with drug and alcohol related anti-social behaviour in our city centre.”