Parks for London - Byelaws & Enforcement Action Group

Parks for London - Byelaws & Enforcement Action Group 11th October 2016, 10 am -12 noon, Committee Room 2, City Hall NOTES

Attending Tony Leach (TL)-Parks for London [PfL], Nina Obhrai –PfL, Jerry Gutwin (JG) – LB Islington, Alex Ferris (AF)-LVRPA, Richard Vero (RV)-BL Bexley, Steve Bound (SB) – Wimbledon & Putney Commons, Will Walpole (WW) – LB Southwark, Urmi Solanki (US) – DCLG, Vanita Patel (VP) – DCLG, Richard Gentry (RG) – City of London, Toby Smith (TS) – LB Bromley, Andrew Wright (AW)-LB Camden, Mark Evison (ME) – APPCT, Lara-Mifsud-Bonici (LMB)-LB Lambeth

Apologies James Rose – LB Havering, Matthew Gunyon – LB Barnet, Chris Welsh – LB Ealing, Carey Gay – RB Greenwich, Paul Martin –RB Greenwich, Mark White Hackney, Mike Rumble- LBHF, Sarah Jones – LB Haringey, Paul Bassi – LB Hounslow, Simon Lee – WPCC, Matthew Watts – LB Enfield, Mandy Thompson – LB Waltham Forest, Andy Barnard – City of London

1. Welcome and Introductions JG welcomed all to the meeting. See above for those attending and apologies.

2. Introduction from DCLG, Vanita Patel (VP) See presentation on the PfL website: http://parksforlondon.org.uk/presentations/ key points as follows: What are byelaws?  The DCLG byelaws cover pleasure grounds, public walks and greenspaces.  These are laws operating in local authority areas which require an action to be done or not to be done i.e. no ball games  Byelaws will only be implemented where no other alternative mechanism exists to address the issue such as legislation, Public Service Protection Orders (PSPO) or Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN).  Byelaws are enforced through the magistrate court 1(as criminal offence) and are in place until revoked, byelaws cannot be enforced through FPN2. On the other hand Public Service Protection Orders (PSPO) are enforced at a local level and are in place for 3 years, so need to be reviewed/renewed if needed. Making byelaws under new arrangements (from March 2016) also see slide 5  It is up to the individual council to draft and submit an application (no template is provided under the new arrangements) for a new byelaw, having first gone through a process of consultation - with local groups and individuals potentially affected by it3. A good consultation process may result is fewer representations/objections when it is advertised after approval.

1 There are cost implications of enforcing through magistrate court, therefore consider if byelaws most appropriate way to implement changes in behaviour 2 Except City of London, where the new Open Spaces Bill has provision to enforce byelaws through FPN. Also there is provision in the London Local Authorities Act 2012 to implement through FPN. 3 Consider the Equality Act 2010 for consultation purposes

Byelaws Action Group – Notes 11th Oct 2016 Page 1 of 4  Under the new arrangements the application is accompanied by a report (replacing the old application), which ensures the council has the power to introduce a byelaw and that it does not conflict with existing legislation.  All applications go to the Secretary of State for approval and a response is given within 30 days (unless there is a reason to defer a decision).  Once approved the byelaw is advertised for 28 days (generally through the council’s website). This is a secondary consultation process; it was noted at the meeting that where the initial consultation phase is rigorous the second phase can be onerous especially given parks dept.’s limited resources. However the second phase is designed to give greater transparency and reach the wider public. It is up to the council to decide how they treat any objections or representations. At this stage formatting changes and minor modifications can be made 4  Under the new arrangements the council decides when to implement the byelaw, confirmation is no longer required by DCLG.  New byelaws must be advertised appropriately to engage and inform the local community. How this is done is up to the local council i.e. website, signage* (good way to bring about compliant behaviour – potentially saving resources).

*It was noted that signage for enforcement is a vital tool, be it for byelaws or for other mechanisms as Dog Control Orders, but this gets expensive when needed across multiple sites. The challenge for councils with fewer resources and ground staff is to change behaviour using other means such as good PR and communications. There is a need for collaboration with the DCLG and PfL for to look at this. -Revoking Byelaws  There is no role for DCLG in revoking byelaws that are no longer required. See slide 6 for process.  Note that even if not relevant or used, an old byelaw is still technically enforceable, so good housekeeping to review old byelaws & revoke. -Top Tips See slide 8 -Further details and Guidance  The guidance notes for the new arrangements have been updated please use the link below: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-government-legislation-byelaws The model byelaws are due to be updated by year end. Also see slide 9

Questions and Answers -It was confirmed that Dog Control Orders (DCO)were the mechanism to replace byelaws relating to dog control, and PSPO are now the latest legislation for dog control, Nb the PSBO’s must be put in place by the council, as DCO are not replaced automatically. The DCLG would now expect PSPO provisions to be used for dog control matters rather than reverting to byelaws. The PSPO comes under DEFRA legislation – the following website link may be useful: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/control-dogs#pspo

4 Minor modifications being those that do not change the scope of the byelaw. Advice on what is a minor modifications can be sought from DCLG [email protected]

Byelaws Action Group – Notes 11th Oct 2016 Page 2 of 4 Also see the PfL website for templates for licensing for professional dog walkers (developed in association with the Kennel Club: http://parksforlondon.org.uk/resources/action- groups/licencing-trading/

-LVRPA has issues will illegal encampments – byelaws do not give powers to remove encampments. -VP suggested Home Office Legislation may be more appropriate. The link below gives guidance5, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and- unauthorised-encampments

-In LB Lambeth byelaws do not allow cycling on quiet ways developed by TFL. VP suggests adopting byelaws to 1. Allow cycling on designated routes or 2. Cycling so as not to cause annoyance to others

3. Draft Terms of Reference -TL confirmed that the group would meet for a maximum of 1 year to develop generic templates of materials (DCLG have already has 7 samples of model byelaws see above.) -PfL will also look at the issues of enforcement with the group and sharing good practice. Bearing in mind differing resources across LB’s i.e. not all have access to enforcement teams.

The draft terms of reference were agreed

4. Membership of the Group -A representative should be invited from London Councils.

5. Survey Results -TL confirmed that more results were needed to review enforcement options and costs. The survey will be resent and reviewed at the next meeting.

6. Areas of Concern connected with Byelaws

For next meeting -Drones – legislation -Illegal/traveller encampments -Demonstrations around circuses -Cycling

7. AOB

5 The guidance refers to one of the enforcement powers being through a power of seizure byelaw. DCLG recommend that the advice contained in the guidance as to when this byelaw may be appropriate, is carefully considered. Any byelaws made must demonstrate there are no other legislative provisions through which the issue could be addressed and that the byelaw can be successfully used as a vehicle to address the matter. Where they exist and can be applied by the local authority, DCLG would expect local authorities to use those enforcement powers set out in the guidance, unless they can demonstrate those provisions would not work or be unsuccessful.

Byelaws Action Group – Notes 11th Oct 2016 Page 3 of 4 -The Royal Parks are organising a seminar to look at managing cycling on 25th November, details will be circulated to this group.

-The date of the next meeting will be Thursday 12th Jan 2-4pm, room 3, City Hall.

Byelaws Action Group – Notes 11th Oct 2016 Page 4 of 4