Drone ban proposed for Brighton and Hove parks and public places.

Anti-social dogs and dog walkers, drone pests and campers all face a crackdown as the council looks afresh at its power to regulate public places.

Drones are to be banned from taking off and landing in all parks and public spaces across Brighton and Hove under a new public space protection order (PSPO).

The drone ban is contained in one of six PSPOs proposed by Brighton and Hove City Council which are due to go out to public consultation.

The consultation was approved by the council’s cabinet at a meeting at Hove Town Hall today (Monday 29 June).

A report to the cabinet said that there was a history of drones being an issue and unsafe around children’s playgrounds and “recreation environments”.

Labour councillor Emma Daniel, the council’s cabinet member for children, families and youth services, said: “We are having to think about how we legislate for new technology.

“Drones can be intrusive and dangerous if not flown with care.”

A ban on covering all council parks and public open spaces would be in line with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidance on restrictions to flying drones, the cabinet was told.

Another new PSPO would ban “overnight recreational camping” on council land – a move that Councillor Daniel said was not “seeking to criminalise homelessness” nor was it targeting travellers.

The cabinet report cited Regency Square as an example, saying that a camper van had parked there in the summer for two years.

Councillor Daniel said: “I know people focus on encampments and we are working on encampments in the broadest sense.

“We are not in any way seeking to criminalise homelessness but you’d be amazed at how many people who do actually camp are just visiting.

“That is not right and you should go and pay for a campsite if you want to come on holiday.”

Councillor Daniel said that the public consultation would ask people about the proposed PSPOs as well as extensions to and renewals of existing PSPOs

These include renewing the ban on balloon releases, sky lanterns and the use of disposable barbecues in public spaces. An extension to this order would include lighting unauthorised fires on public land, excluding allotments.

In Blakers Park the council plans to extend its dog-free zone to include the fenced-off area and also to ban professional dog walkers.

Councillor Daniel said: “I used to take my daughter there when she was little and it’s such a small park.

“The idea that you could bring a whole bunch of dogs and walk them there when it’s surrounded by roads, I don’t think that’s a good idea.

“But in the absence of common sense, there’s a proposed new PSPO there as well which I think is very sensible.”

Labour councillor Theresa Fowler, who represents Hollingdean and Fiveways, previously presented a petition to the council calling for dogs to be banned from the fenced-off part of the Park.

The Labour leader of the council, Bella Sankey, praised Councillor Fowler’s efforts in pushing for the PSPO, saying that she was “like a dog with a bone” when it came to Blakers Park.

There are 12 separate public consultations about PSPOs on the council’s website, including one that could require dogs to be on leads in public places.

The surveys are open for five weeks and due to close on Friday 7 August.

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