Richmond Public Space Protection Order Consultation 2025 (Anti-idling)

Overview

What Are PSPOs?

Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) are an element of legislation introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to tackle anti-social behaviour in a flexible and responsive way.

A PSPO prohibits specific activities within a defined area and is intended to deal with particular nuisances or problems that are detrimental to the local community’s quality of life and ensure that people can use and enjoy public spaces safe from anti-social behaviour.

Breaching a PSPO without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence and on conviction, a person guilty of an offence is liable to a fine of up to £1,000. However, breaches of PSPOs are more commonly dealt with through the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices, currently set at £100 but reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days.

What's being proposed and why

The Council proposes to implement a borough-wide Public Spaces Protection Order to enable practical enforcement against drivers that unnecessarily leave their vehicles idling.

Background

We are committed to clean air and healthier lives for everyone in the borough. Our new award-winning Air Quality Action Plan proposes to go beyond the current UK objectives and aim for the cleanest air in the UK. To do this we need to act differently and challenge polluting behaviour.

Pollution from vehicle idling remains a problem in the borough and despite putting additional resources into our parking services to deal with this issue, there continues to be a problem throughout the borough, with thousands of interventions made by our Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs). In the first quarter of this year alone we recorded 1,909 interventions by our CEOs.

A particular difficulty with the current enforcement regime is that a Fixed Penalty Notice can only be issued where a driver refuses to stop idling when asked to do so by an authorised officer such as a CEO. As a result, only one fine has been issued in the past six years, despite over 65,000 interventions by our CEOs in the borough. The absence of a realistic risk of a fine means there is little incentive for those drivers who continue to engage in idling to change their behaviour.  

To tackle this unnecessary and illegal behaviour the Council must consider all the powers available to it to address the continued high level of idling and the resulting negative impact on air quality.  

Proposal

We propose to run a one-year trial using a bespoke Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) aimed at unnecessary idling vehicles in the borough, including vehicles at level crossings. 

Details of exemptions are provided in our supplementary information paper here.

It is anticipated that this will be delivered in targeted areas during the pilot to assess the impact before any extension or widespread use of these powers.  

Considerations

Any use of these powers will need to be reasonable and proportionate and in line with the Council's enforcement policy.

Where practicable, we will run a period of written warnings and a communications campaign prior to implementation and ensure that our highways signage is updated and amended to ensure that this is as visible as reasonably possible.  

There will be a right of appeal which in the first instance will be dealt with by the Council and then, if necessary, escalation to the magistrate’s court.  

Have your say

Please give us your feedback using the Online Survey link below.

Please read the Equalities Impact Needs Assessment (EINA) before giving us your views using the online survey link below.

If you need the questionnaire in paper or any other format, please contact us at consultation@richmond.gov.uk or call 020 8891 1411 quoting Richmond Anti-Idling PSPO Consultation.

What happens next

All feedback we receive in response to the consultation will be carefully analysed and considered before a decision is made on the way forward.