On the first day of national Anti-social Behaviour Awareness Week (30 June – 6 July 2025), Calderdale Council is seeking to approve a range of powers at its Cabinet meeting to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour across the borough.
The Council works all year round, in partnership with other organisations like West Yorkshire Police, to help keep Calderdale safe, clean and welcoming.
On Monday 30 June 2025, Cabinet Members will make decisions on two reports about dealing with anti-social behaviour.
One is proposing a new legal tool (a Public Space Protection Order, or PSPO) to reduce the anti-social use of vehicles, in response to local people’s concerns. The other recommends that West Yorkshire Police officers in Calderdale be given the power to issue local authority Fixed Penalty Notice fines for PSPO breaches to reduce on-street anti-social behaviour and environmental nuisance.
Cllr Danielle Durrans, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said:
“People deserve to feel safe and have a good quality of life. We want Calderdale to be a welcoming and thriving place for everyone, where families want to live, the environment is protected, businesses want to invest and visitor numbers are high.
“We know how issues like anti-social behaviour make local people feel, and we’re working hard to stamp it out.”
There is already a lot of work going on across Calderdale, through the Community Safety Partnership, to prevent, challenge and enforce against anti-social behaviour.
Now the Council is getting tougher to reassure communities that action is being taken. It has listened to local people’s concerns about the inconsiderate and intimidating use of motor vehicles, which has a significant impact on how safe they feel when out and about in Calderdale.
The Council has received support, through a recent public consultation, to introduce a PSPO throughout the borough to ban certain vehicle-based behaviour, such as revving engines, playing loud music, driving inconsiderately / causing danger to other road users and pedestrians, racing, damaging property and shouting at / verbally abusing other people.
If Cabinet approves the proposed PSPO, the Council and Police would be able to fine people who breach the order, or even prosecute the worst offenders.
This would also support the ongoing work in Calderdale and across West Yorkshire to improve the safety of women and girls, and to achieve zero road accident deaths and serious injuries in West Yorkshire by 2040 (‘Vision Zero’). The latest figures show that 56% of vehicle collisions resulting in fatality or serious injury were because of careless or reckless behaviours.
To further boost the partnership work to keep Calderdale’s towns and places safe, Cabinet Members will also be asked to allow West Yorkshire Police officers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) for PSPO breaches that cause on-street anti-social behaviour and environmental nuisance. Currently, only the Council can issue these fines.
If Police officers saw these crimes taking place and could fine people at the time of offending, there would be an immediate consequence for offenders and a strong message that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in Calderdale.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet meeting will be held on Monday 30 June 2025 at Halifax Town Hall from 4pm. The meeting can also be watched online at https://calderdale.public-i.tv/core/portal/home(external link)