A petition against potential new laws combating street sleeping in Oxford city centre has attracted 40,000 signatures.
The local authority has recently closed consultations on plans for a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which would outlaw activities including begging, busking and street sleeping in particular locations.
Oxford City Council has said it is keen to tackle ongoing incidents of anti-social behaviour in the city centre and improve the experience for members of the community.
Proposed new laws would target people who have housing but continue to stay on central urban streets and would not launch a blanket ban on rough sleeping.
However an online petition run by campaign group On Your Doorstep calling for the town hall to remove rough sleeping from the list of behaviours poised to be banned has now attracted 37,803 supporters.
A statement on the site warns the PSPO would risk ‘treating rough sleepers as a problem to be dealt with, as an inconvenience, as a threat, rather than as individual human beings’ and could ‘gloss over the long term issue of homelessness’.
Measures are due to be discussed by Oxford City Council in May after public consultaion on the PSPO plan closed last month.
Launching the consultation, city council leader Bob Price said the issues – which also include cycling, drinking and dog control – have ‘a huge impact on our perceptions of the city and everyone has a view on them’.
‘We’re keen to enhance the look and feel of the city so that it remains a place that everyone can enjoy. But persistent incidents and types of anti-social behaviour can spoil the experience for residents, businesses and visitors,’ he added.
The news came after council leaders across England were forced to defend the use of PSPOs under allegations that local bans on activities were creating a ‘patchwork’ of ‘bizarre’ offences.
