Poole Bus Station Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) Consultation

Consultation has concluded

In 2019, Dorset Police and local bus companies approached Borough of Poole seeking assistance with reducing the level of anti-social behaviour (ASB) affecting the bus station by the Dolphin Centre in Poole town centre. Part of the Strategy for reducing ASB was to target the alleys connecting the bus station with the Dolphin multi-storey car park (identified below). It was considered by Borough of Poole, now BCP Council, that the closure of these two alleys could reduce ASB but might also lead to accessibility problems.


Alley behind bus station

Alley currently boarded up in bus station (area in yellow) 

This consultation sought views from BCP residents, businesses/organisations and other affected stakeholders, on whether the gating of the alleys would, on balance, be beneficial for the users of the bus station if ASB was reduced without unfairly affecting access needs.

We asked respondents to read the Summary Document before responding to the online survey. They were invited to submit any ideas they had on the proposal and could submit any additional suggestions for reducing ASB in the area on the Ideas Board.

Printable versions of the documents could be found on the right hand side of this page and hard copies could be collected from Poole Library or on request to the email address below.

The consultation closed at midnight on 5 September 2021.

If respondents had any questions or required the documents in an alternative format, they could email rightsofway@bcpcouncil.gov.uk giving their name, address and telephone number.


Outcome

We established from the consultation that there were a mixture of views on the use of the alleys, with a significant number of people associating the alleys with antisocial behaviour. Other respondents felt the alleys serve a useful access purpose for moving between the bus station and the Dolphin multi-storey car park. Ultimately, it was the presence of Shopmobility / Wheels for Freedom at the car park that determined the outcome of the action. If a PSPO was implemented to gate these alleys, it would represent a discriminatory action against those who depend on the alleys to move between the bus station and this service that caters for individuals with mobility disabilities. Incidental to the temporary closure of the alleys was the discovery that there has been insufficient reduction of antisocial behaviour levels to offset the access loss, adding further evidence against a permanent closure.

For these reasons, the alleys are to be reopened and no further action taken with regard to closures.

You can read the full findings in the consultation report here.

In 2019, Dorset Police and local bus companies approached Borough of Poole seeking assistance with reducing the level of anti-social behaviour (ASB) affecting the bus station by the Dolphin Centre in Poole town centre. Part of the Strategy for reducing ASB was to target the alleys connecting the bus station with the Dolphin multi-storey car park (identified below). It was considered by Borough of Poole, now BCP Council, that the closure of these two alleys could reduce ASB but might also lead to accessibility problems.


Alley behind bus station

Alley currently boarded up in bus station (area in yellow) 

This consultation sought views from BCP residents, businesses/organisations and other affected stakeholders, on whether the gating of the alleys would, on balance, be beneficial for the users of the bus station if ASB was reduced without unfairly affecting access needs.

We asked respondents to read the Summary Document before responding to the online survey. They were invited to submit any ideas they had on the proposal and could submit any additional suggestions for reducing ASB in the area on the Ideas Board.

Printable versions of the documents could be found on the right hand side of this page and hard copies could be collected from Poole Library or on request to the email address below.

The consultation closed at midnight on 5 September 2021.

If respondents had any questions or required the documents in an alternative format, they could email rightsofway@bcpcouncil.gov.uk giving their name, address and telephone number.


Outcome

We established from the consultation that there were a mixture of views on the use of the alleys, with a significant number of people associating the alleys with antisocial behaviour. Other respondents felt the alleys serve a useful access purpose for moving between the bus station and the Dolphin multi-storey car park. Ultimately, it was the presence of Shopmobility / Wheels for Freedom at the car park that determined the outcome of the action. If a PSPO was implemented to gate these alleys, it would represent a discriminatory action against those who depend on the alleys to move between the bus station and this service that caters for individuals with mobility disabilities. Incidental to the temporary closure of the alleys was the discovery that there has been insufficient reduction of antisocial behaviour levels to offset the access loss, adding further evidence against a permanent closure.

For these reasons, the alleys are to be reopened and no further action taken with regard to closures.

You can read the full findings in the consultation report here.