Public booze ban for Okehampton and Tavistock

But it's fine as long as you behave

A public space protection order (PSPO) to crackdown on alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour (ASB) in West Devon has been extended to include the whole of Tavistock and Okehampton.

Officers will have the power to confiscate alcohol from people who are being a nuisance.

Currently only The Meadows park in Tavistock is covered by a PSPO which came into effect in November 2021 in response to street drinking and is up for renewal. Okehampton has never had a PSPO.

West Devon Borough Council’s ‘hub committee’ approved extending the area from this November but emphasised that it does not stop people drinking in public as long as they behave.

The extension was requested by police neighbourhood team leader Sgt Thomas Ottley who said limiting the order to The Meadows moves anti-social behaviour to other parts of town.

Okehampton has suffered several spates of poor behaviour linked to alcohol around the town centre, Simmons Park, and around residential developments which the officer said police could target “more robustly” with the new powers which included moving people for up to 24 hours.

If people don’t comply with the order they risk arrest or a fixed penalty fine of £100.

The PSPO, which is supported by Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez, also covers urinating or defecating in public and begging.

Both towns have around 200 ASB incidents a year, less than during the pandemic.

A public consultation last summer produced 87 responses, the majority of which supported the order.

But Tavistock Town Council doesn’t agree with the geographical scope of the area,  wanting only the town centre, Crowndale and The Meadows included.

Okehampton Town Council and Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council supported the extension.

Police have other powers available to tackle anti-social behaviour, but PSPOs are said to be the most effective way of dealing with it.

Cllr Jeff Moody (Ind, Tavistock North) said the order doesn’t prevent people drinking in the park on a sunny afternoon, but there is still a misunderstanding.

“It’s just to stop the anti-social behaviour. It’s the consumption of alcohol and anti-social behaviour together ,but if you are having a great time and sitting in the sunshine, it’s not a problem.”

Cllr Chris Edmunds (Conservative, Tamarside) said “I am sure the police will police this with common sense and hopefully will ensure a good outcome and plenty of nice picnics over the summer months.”

Cllr Jane Elliot (Green, Chagford) said it should not be seen as an “issue of moral panic.

“I think we all acknowledge we are very lucky to be living in West Devon and most of the time we go about our lives being untroubled by anti-social behaviour but we do have to be realistic that it exists.”

She said the council would get a chance to review it in three years’ time.