Pubs and litter laws: New community protection notices

This would seem pretty basic stuff really, innocent until proven guilty, even if the onus is on the person to prove the negative rather than the prosecution to prove the positive.

Part 3 of the Act also deals with litter clearing notices and street litter control notices. I remember when the legislation came into force and thought that both of these measures would have a profound effect on pubs and restaurants up and down the land.

A litter clearing notice is issued by a principal litter authority in relation to any land in its area that is open to the air. This is a bit scary since if the local urban fox got at your bagged waste last night when the wind was blowing and this resulted in litter scattered over your car park or beer garden, you may have a problem.

If the principal litter authority determines that your litter has defaced the area (notwithstanding the actions of the fox during the night) they can issue you with a notice requiring you not only to clean up the land but also, if the authority thinks that it may reoccur, to take reasonable steps to prevent it from becoming so defaced (fox and gun come to mind).

Street litter control notices have been in force through the Environmental Protection Act 1990 before the 2005 Act came into force. The Clean Neighbourhoods Act, however, reinforced the section of the Act to include mobile vehicles that discard their litter at the roadside.

The Environmental Protection Act is more specific in its requirements about litter and refuse, in particular where the problem relates to the use of public footpaths or rights of way.

Where, once upon a time, the rubbish went out at the end of every evening for the bin man to collect the next day, now not only are there specific hours in which the waste is to be left outside, but the principal litter authority inspects the area in the vicinity of the premises. If there is any defacement “by litter or refuse” then a street litter control notice may be issued, requiring the occupier to clean up his act.

While the authority must inform the receiver of the control notice before it is issued to enable them to make representations (blame Reynard), the person to whom the notice is issued is guilty of an offence if the content of the notice is not dealt with diligently.

So, in 2012 these pieces of legislation have dovetailed into the Licensing Act 2003 very successfully. Everyone knows their responsibility and life is full of contentment.

Sorry to disturb the contentment, the Home Office has issued a document called Putting Victims First — More Effective Responses to Antisocial Behaviour.

And, litter clearing notices, street litter control notices and defacement removal notices are proposed to become community protection notices. Community protection notices are designed to deal with particular problems that impact negatively on a community’s quality of life and could direct the person responsible to stop causing a nuisance and/or require them to make good — I had thought that was what the existing legislation was already doing!

But the benefit of the new system, among other things, is that “the notice will also extend the powers the police have to deal with noise nuisance” — this is currently the preserve of local authorities, many of whom do not have out-of-hours services.

Similarly, premises closure orders that encompass premises operating with a premises licence — unlicensed premises licence closure notices (section 19 Criminal Justice & Police Act 2001), section 161 closure orders (Licensing Act 2003), noisy premises closure orders (Clean Neighbourhoods Act), and crack house closure orders (Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003) are proposed to be distilled into a community protection order (closure) and will be an order to close premises either temporarily or for up to six months.

This new initiative to bring the premises closure powers together simplifies things, while keeping the benefits of the current system in “providing respite for communities”.

Thus, we have the same content but a different name and quite probably more complexity to begin with.

We have all read recently about the misinterpretation of police powers and the use of S19 notices (Criminal Justice and Police Act), so it is to be hoped that the Home Office guidance to these changes will be unequivocal from the very beginning.