A new ruling came into effect yesterday to crack down on antisocial behaviour, including public drinking, drug taking and unlicensed music on Hackney Marshes and some surrounding green spaces.

The Public Space Protection Order agreed by Hackney Council will also prohibit raves, the destruction of wildlife, possession of laughing gas, loud music, fires, and the entry of vehicles.  

It gives community safety officers, enforcement officers and police officers the power to issue penalty warnings and fixed penalty notices up to £100 to those breaking the order.  

After a previous PSPO covering Wick Woodland expired in June, the new three-year order extends to Hackney Marshes, Millfields, Daubeney Fields and Mabley green.  

Councillor Susan Fajana-Thomas told a meeting of the Hackney Council Cabinet on Monday: “We saw a significant decrease in the number of reported incidents in Wick Woodland [during the original PSPO] however there was a displacement [of antisocial behaviour] to other parks and green spaces in the immediate area.”  

The council carried out a consultation of 296 local people from May to July, asking for their opinions on an extended PSPO.  

It revealed 62 per cent of respondents said they had experienced antisocial behaviour, noise nuisance or environmental damage in the green spaces. 63 per cent said they would support the introduction of the new PSPO. 

Fajana-Thomas wants to ensure “local residents can get a good night’s sleep without disruption” and the environment is protected.   She said wildlife was being “polluted by drinking, defecating, urinating and damage”. 

According to the Metropolitan Police, Hackney is in the top ten worst boroughs for anti-social behaviour. Superintendent Andy Port, from the Metropolitan Police told the Cabinet: “A significant amount of this ASB can be attributed to those who are under the influence of drink.”  

He added: “This is particularly prevalent in the Wick Woodland and Hackney Marshes area where we experience a disproportionate number of unlicensed music events (UMEs) and I suspect many are unrecorded by police.”  

Port noted the prevalence of illegal drugs being supplied and consumed in the park: “[It] poses a serious risk to any young and vulnerable people.”  

While most people and organisations are in support of the PSPO, some believe it restricts peoples’ freedom.  

Katy Watts from Liberty, the human rights organisation, wrote to Hackney Council opposing the order for being “unreasonable and unduly restrict[ing] civil liberties”.  

Watts argued that the council’s consultation was not sufficient evidence of the need for a PSPO, which she said would “criminalise outdoor gatherings and inhibit the right to protest” and punish “poverty-related behaviours”.  

This was the sentiment echoed by Hackney resident David at Mayor’s Question Time on October 17.  He asked Mayor Phillip Granville: “Can you guarantee us … not a single person experiencing homelessness will be fined for seeking shelter … and officers will not use these powers to prosecute or remove individuals seeking shelter?”  

Glanville responded: “We never consider homelessness antisocial behaviour … the act of being homeless in the public realm … is not committing antisocial behaviour.”  

He added that officers will not use their new powers against homeless people, and a “multi-disciplinary mental health team” will instead be used to support them.  

Glanville told the Cabinet meeting on November 21: “We don’t treat homelessness as an offence, just take that for further reassurance given those questions a couple of weeks ago.”  

The PSPO will be in place until 2025.