Consultation and engagement

Consultation on a Public Spaces Protection Order for street drinking

Start date: Monday 11th May 2026 
End date: Monday 8th June 2026

What are we consulting on?

The council is considering re-introducing a public spaces protection order in relation to street drinking covering defined areas of the city (City Centre, Bramley Moore area and Paddington Village). The order will prohibit public consumption of alcohol within the defined areas - plans of those areas are available to view below.

The order grants police and council officers powers to request individuals to stop drinking or surrender alcohol in designated areas. Refusal can lead to a fixed penalty (FPN) of up to £100.

Documents we are consulting on

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How to comment

We'd like to hear whether or not you think the order should be made.

Representations should be received on or by Monday 8th June 2026 and posted to: Charlotte Atkinson, Legal Services, Liverpool City Council, 4th 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 Charlotte Atkinson, by email to legal.planning@liverpool.gov.uk.

FAQs

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 Spaces Protection Order is seeking to address.

This report will then be put to the Council’s Highways and Public Spaces Representation Committee who will consider the report at a public meeting and decide on whether or not the order should be made. Find out more about the Highways and Public Spaces Representation Committee.

A Public Spaces Protection Order 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 the public spaces safe from harm. You can view the Home Office's guidance document. 

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. Public consumption of alcohol contributes to anti-social behaviour and concerns about public safety. 

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 issued 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. 

Selection of the area is based on complaints and evidence of incidents occurring. 

The order prohibits:

  1. drinking alcohol within a public place save for those set out in schedule 2 of the order (premises authorised by a premises licence to be used for the supply of alcohol, premises authorised by a club premises certificate to be used by the club for the supply of alcohol, a place within the curtilage of premises described above.

The PSPO will be enforced by police officers, including Police Community Support Officers, and Liverpool City Council enforcement officers.