This meeting was an Executive Decision with no public access, on the topic of a proposed borough-wide Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO)¹ to tackle nuisance from car meets. It was scheduled to be led by Councillor Khevyn Limbajee, the Portfolio Lead Member for Community Safety. Attendees were provided with a report pack ² that recommends making a borough-wide PSPO to tackle nuisance from car meets, and included a summary of the consultation on the proposed order.

The Public Spaces Protection Order

The report pack provided to the attendees included a report on a proposed new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for the whole of Waltham Forest, intended to restrict nuisance from car meets. It included a letter of support from Superintendent Lora John³ from the Metropolitan Police Service, and details of the outcome of the public consultation on the proposed order. The report pack states that Waltham Forest has seen a gradual but significant increase in nuisance and anti-social behaviour (ASB) related to motor vehicles participating in organised car meets.

It describes three locations that are of particular concern:

• Argyll Avenue, E10, which runs through the Roxwell Industrial Park
• The Leyton Mills Retail Park, E10
• The Tesco Extra on Signal Walk, E4, in Highams Park

The report states that there were 178 reports of car meets between July 2021 and May 2024, not including general nuisance related to vehicles such as nuisance parking, general speeding, moped delivery drivers, and running commercial car repair services from domestic premises. These reports are linked with racing, revving engines, problematic congregation, and drug related reports.

The report pack also mentions an Environmental Visual Assessment (EVA)⁴ completed by the police, which identifies vehicle access restrictions as a key factor to tackling the ongoing car meets.

The report states that car meets are relatively concentrated within certain wards and locations, but also notes that they are also occurring boroughwide. A heatmap is included, but it only shows the relative concentration of meets, and does not name any of the affected locations other than those mentioned above.

The report pack discusses the existing and proposed enforcement powers available to the council. It says that the council currently uses ASB Case Review (formerly known as the Community Trigger)⁵ powers to address car meets. The council also works in partnership with the Police as part of Operation DUNDRAW, which uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to identify vehicles and issue either ASB Warning Letters or Section 59 Notices[^6]. Other tactics include the use of:

• Council ASB Patrol Service (Parkguard) patrols
• Special Constable patrols
• Section 35 Dispersal Orders⁶

The report says that, Changes to the road structure and layout such as speed humps and vehicle access restrictions have been investigated. The report states that a high friction surface was applied to Argyll Avenue on 6 October 2023 to prevent wheel spinning, and that a consultation for additional parking restrictions was taking place.

The report pack recommends that the portfolio lead agree to the making of the borough-wide PSPO to begin on 7 October 2024 and run for a period of three years, expiring at midnight on 6 October 2027. The proposed PSPO, included as appendix 4, is intended to prohibit congregating for the purpose of being a participant or spectator, as a passenger or driver of a vehicle, in a vehicle cruising activity that is likely to cause a nuisance to persons in the locality of the restricted area by:

• Driving a motor vehicle at excessive speed
• Revving of engines
• Sudden or rapid acceleration / deceleration
• Driving in convoy
• Idling
• Performing stunts
• Sounding horns
• Playing amplified music
• Displaying
• Causing obstruction

The report states that breach of the order will be a criminal offence, and can result in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of up to £100, or a fine of up to £1000 if prosecuted. The report pack states that, The Council and the Police are authorised to under the Act to enforce PSPO’s.

The report pack states that, A PSPO is preferable to the alternative of an Injunction as it allows for various delegated Council enforcement teams to enforce alongside the Police, whereas the onus is mainly on Police to enforce an Injunction. It also says that Currently there are no powers to enforcement against individuals or vehicles participating by observation in a car meet.

The report pack states that, A 4-week Public Consultation was held between 27 March and 24 May 2024, and that it included liaising with partners such as the Police and engaging with residents, businesses, and councillors across all wards. The document says that the consultation received 311 responses, of which 100% lived within the boundary of London borough of Waltham Forest. It says that there was high support of 88.2% to make a borough wide PSPO, and that, Regarding the specific terms within the PSPO, support from the public is high, with an average of 81.7% supporting each of the proposed restrictions. The report pack includes as appendix 2 the full results of the survey.

The report pack states that an equalities impact assessment (attached as Appendix 8) has been carried out and has not identified any adverse impacts on the identified protected groups. The report states that the assessment has concluded that the policy will have a positive impact on protected characteristics by preventing the negative impact of the nuisance caused by car meets. The document says that, The equality impact of the Policy will be monitored once the policy has been implemented. The report pack does not include a copy of the Equality Impact Assessment.

The report pack mentions the following laws:

• Crime and Disorder Act 1998: This law requires local authorities to work with partners, including the police, to develop and implement strategies to reduce crime and disorder in their area.
• Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014: This law introduces a range of new powers and tools for tackling anti-social behaviour, including Public Spaces Protection Orders.

The report pack states that the order will not require additional staff, and that all costs will be contained within existing budgets. The report does say that new PSPO signs will need to be installed at various locations. The document includes as appendix 6 a timetable of the implementation of the order.