Consultation and engagement

Consultation on a Public Spaces Protection Order for parts of Liverpool City Centre

Start date: 19th February 2026  
End date: 5th March 2026 

What are we consulting on?

The council is considering making a public spaces protection order (PSPO) covering parts of Liverpool city centre because of the anti-social behaviour and criminality identified within the witness statements of Inspector 5017 Woodwood dated 26th August 2025 and 11th February 2026, available to download and view below.

The order would ban people from:

  • covering their face with any coverings save for specific items of personal clothing which reflect the individual’s cultural values - for the avoidance of doubt this will not apply to any coverings worn for the specific purposes of addressing legitimate medical needs or personal safety
  • swearing at, verbally abusing or gesticulating at another person in such a manner as to cause, or be likely to cause them to feel intimidated, harassed, alarmed or distressed.
  • throwing, kicking or otherwise propelling objects at another persons’ property or business premises without their consent.

The order would also ban being part of a group or gathering of six or more persons behaving in a manner which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to another person, including refusing to leave any shop, commercial or recreational premises when asked to leave by an identified member of staff.

It would also allow authorised officers such as Police officers, if they have reasonable grounds to believe that activities taking place within that area are detrimentally impacting upon the quality of life of the local community, to direct people to leave a specific area and not return to it for 24 hours.

There would be certain exceptions to how this direction can be used, for example no person could be directed to leave an area that contains their home or place of work. This would mean that any person doing any of the above activities would be committing an offence punishable by a fine.

The order is being proposed because the council considers that the activities concerned may have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.

Previous consultation

In September 2025 the council run an initial consultation on a proposed order. Following this consultation and the responses received about it the prohibitions of the proposed order have been changed.

Documents we are consulting on

How to comment

We'd like to hear whether you think the order should be made.

Representations should be received on or by 5th March 2026 and posted to: Michael Edgar, Legal Services, Liverpool City Council, 5th Floor, Cunard Buildings, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1AH, or emailed to legal.planning@liverpool.gov.uk.

What happens to my views?

Any responses we receive will be anonymised and become part of the Delegated Authority Report that summarises the consultation.

Should there be any objections to the order, they will also go to the Highways and Public Spaces Representation Committee.

The responses are held electronically, unless they are paper responses, and kept on the council’s system for three years after the end of the order.

What happens next?

The results of the consultation will be reported to the council’s Highways and Public Spaces Representation Committee which will decide whether to proceed with the proposed order. If implemented the order will be the subject of further publicity.

Further information

Questions may be addressed to Michael Edgar, by email to legal.planning@liverpool.gov.uk.

FAQs

A PSPO is legislation that allows a council to address a particular nuisance or problem that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life in a particular area. The order works by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. They are designed to ensure the law-abiding majority can use and enjoy public spaces safe from harm. View the Home Office guidance document for more information (GOV.UK).

 The issues are that there is behaviour taking place that is having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those living in, working in, or visiting the City Centre. Since November 2024, reports of youths and young adults gathering in Liverpool City Centre have steadily increased, with persistent and unreasonable behaviour causing fear and concern among the local community. Incidents reported range from ongoing low-level anti-social behaviour to serious public order offences, including hate crimes. There is also an under-reporting of incidents due to concerns of fear and retribution if seen to engage with authorities. CCTV footage often shows individuals concealing their identities and carrying weapons. Most offenders do not live or work in the area but travel in from across Merseyside and the wider Northwest. There is a detailed explanation of the issues set out in the witness statements of Inspector 5017 Woodward.

When selecting the area, it was based on the locations where we know and have evidence of these incidents occurring. 

These are issues that have been identified by the council as being of concern within the local area. They have been generated from complaints made to the council and the Police and issues raised by members of the public, organisations and other stakeholders who live in, work in or visit the city centre. The council is committed to public safety and some of these relate to long standing issues which cannot be easily resolved using the legislation currently available.

This means that a police officer in uniform can ask any individual who is behaving in any way prohibited by the order to leave a specific area and not return to that area for a specific amount of time up to 24 hours. There are specific exemptions with this for example you can’t be asked to leave any area that would stop you from going to the place that you live or work.

The City Council’s Enforcement Policy is based on the Government’s enforcement concordat and means that all actions taken by officers are proportionate and can be incremental, starting with education and advice and progressing to enforcement. The police will also use an incremental enforcement approach. The part of the order dealing with dispersal is only enforceable by a police officer in uniform.

No. Individuals wearing facial coverings for religious, medical or cultural reasons will not be asked to remove facial coverings. However, individuals who have been identified as being involved in ASB or criminality or where the person enforcing the PSPO has a reasonable suspicion that the individual is likely to cause ASB or criminality these individuals will be asked to remove their facial coverings.

The intention is that following the consultation period a report analysing the responses will be prepared. This report will include the results of the consultation. There has already been evidence gathered that has highlighted the impact on individuals and organisations of the types of incidents that the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) is trying to address. This report will then be put to Council’s Highways and Public Spaces Representations Committee they will consider the report at a public meeting and decide on whether or not the order is to be made. Find out more about the Highways and Public Spaces Representation Committee.