FAQs

A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is a legal measure available to councils under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. 

It can prohibit specified behaviour, or require certain actions, within a defined public area where the relevant legal tests are met.

Harrow’s existing PSPOs are due to expire in January 2027.

We are proposing to continue with most of the existing restrictions for a further three years, with some changes proposed. We are consulting on five proposed replacement orders before a decision is made about the PSPOs that would apply from 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2030.

What areas would the proposed PSPOs cover?

There are five proposed orders covering:

• the whole borough
• town and district centres
• housing estates
• parks and open spaces
• specified public places

You can view the maps and full wording of each proposed order in the documents section of this page. 

The proposed PSPOs cover a range of anti-social behaviour and environmental issues.

These include street drinking, spitting, urinating or defecating in public, dog control, litter and waste, vehicle-related nuisance, unauthorised street trading, fires and barbecues, and other activities that may cause harassment, alarm, distress or environmental harm.

The restrictions vary between the five proposed orders. You can read the full details in the draft orders.

Most of the existing restrictions would stay the same, but some changes are proposed.

These include:

Boroughwide PSPO

• Alcohol-related nuisance: The boroughwide order would continue to allow authorised officers to direct someone to stop drinking alcohol. It would also make clear that alcohol must not be consumed in a way that causes, or is likely to cause, nuisance or annoyance to another person.
• Psychoactive substances: The proposed order would continue to ban the use of psychoactive substances, but would remove the requirement to hand them over to an authorised officer.
• Waste left outside bins: The proposed boroughwide order would introduce a restriction on leaving or depositing rubbish or waste, including household waste and builders' waste, outside any bin or other receptacle provided for that purpose. This restriction would be removed from the housing estates order because it would be covered by the boroughwide order.
• Vehicle idling: The proposed order would make it clear that the restriction on engine idling applies to non-electric vehicles only.
• Access to the highway: The boroughwide order would make it clear that access includes dropped kerbs and public footpaths.

Parks and Open Spaces PSPO

• Feeding birds in parks: The proposed parks order would make it clear that details of all designated bird-feeding areas can be found on the London Borough of Harrow website.
• Activities removed from the parks order: The proposed new order would remove restrictions on magnet fishing, camping overnight for the purpose of fishing, metal detecting, CCTV, open-water swimming and foraging.
• Town and district centres: No changes are proposed.
• Specified public places: No changes are proposed.

These are proposals only. We want to hear your views before a decision is made.

No. The proposed replacement PSPOs would continue the existing restrictions on feeding birds and dog control. There are no changes proposed.

The current rules vary depending on the location. More information is provided below. 

Currently all parks are designated for bird feeding, aside from Pinner Memorial Park where there is a clearly identified designated are.

There are, however, some dog control requirements. Dogs are not allowed in areas where a London Borough of Harrow notice says they are excluded, such as designated children’s play areas.

Some locations have additional requirements. At Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, dogs must be kept on a lead in Spring Meadow from 1 April to 31 July to help protect nesting birds and wildlife and also at all times in the deer corridor.

We expect all dogs to be under proper control when being walked anywhere in a public space in Harrow.  Proper control means a dog being on a lead or muzzled if the dog requires it, or otherwise being at heel / close enough to the person in charge that it can be restrained if necessary or responding immediately to voice commands.  It is an offence under the Boroughwide PSPO to walk your dog not under proper control.  An officer can also require dogs not under proper control to be put on a lead.

No.

The consultation is intended to inform the decision. We want to understand whether the proposed restrictions are needed and whether they could have any unintended impacts.

Consultation feedback will be considered alongside enforcement evidence, legal requirements and an Equality Impact Assessment before a final decision is made.

No. A PSPO is designed to address specific behaviours that meet the legal requirements for a PSPO and have a negative effect on the quality of life of people in the area.

It is not intended to prevent people from using and enjoying public spaces responsibly.

A breach may result in enforcement action, which can include a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.

Enforcement must be carried out lawfully and proportionately, taking account of the circumstances of the individual case.

A PSPO can remain in force for a maximum of three years. 

The proposed replacement orders would cover 2027 to 2030. A PSPO can be reviewed, varied, extended or discharged where the legal requirements are met.

You can have your say by completing the consultation survey or speaking to us during our public engagement activity.

The consultation is open from 5 October to 13 November 2026.

Details of our public engagement events, including dates and locations, are available on the main consultation page.

No. You can comment on all five proposed PSPOs or just those that are relevant to you.

The survey will allow you to choose which proposed orders you want to comment on.

We will analyse the survey responses and feedback received through our public engagement activity.

This will be considered alongside enforcement evidence, legal requirements and an Equality Impact Assessment. The proposals may be changed as a result of the consultation.

A report will then be presented to Cabinet, which is expected to consider the final proposals in December 2026.