New powers to tackle anti-social behaviour could see Harrow residents fined for feeding birds in the park.

Fines can already be dished out to people feeding birds in the town centre, but the council are looking to extend this borough-wide, including in parks.

More than 6,000 offences of anti-social behaviour were committed in the borough last year, according to data released by Harrow Council, but only a fraction of them were bird-related.

In 2022, figures show that 44 people were issued fines for breaking bird-feeding laws.

The council are given the power to enforce these laws under a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which helps deal with anti-social behaviours in specific areas that are “damaging to the local community’s quality of life”.

Failing to comply with a PSPO is a criminal offence. It enabled council officers to hand out Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) of up to £100, or a summary offence fine of up to £1,000.

Last year, fines were handed out for 6,158 incidents of anti-social behaviour in the borough, with the most common offence being driving over a footpath (2,402). Other notable breaches included littering cigarette butts(2,313), street drinking (403), and spitting (425).

There are currently two active PSPOs in Harrow, one that is borough-wide and in effect until January 2024, the other only affects the town centre and runs out in July 2024. The new plan is to replace both of these with a single PSPO to cover the borough and specific areas of concern.

According to the council, there has been a rise in low-level crime and anti-social behaviour, including groups of men loitering and drinking in public spaces – which the council says has been causing fear and intimidation on housing estates – littering, drivers riding on pavements, out of control dogs, and wildlife attacks.

The PSPO would look to curb the issues in five key areas, those common throughout the borough, as well as those occurring in housing estates, parks, town centres, and Bentley Priory nature reserve.

If the plan goes ahead, controlling and cleaning up after dogs, no smoking in play areas, and no urinating or spitting in public will be enforced across the borough. Bird feeding would be banned on housing estates, in all parks and nature reserves, and in the town centre. 

Other prohibited behaviours would include fly-tipping on housing estates, leaving commercial waste in town centre public places for an unreasonable length of time, letting dogs off the lead in Bentley Priory, and unauthorised street trading.

Residents could get the chance to have their say on the plans as the council looks to approve an eight-week public consultation process at the upcoming cabinet meeting (February 16).

A spokesperson for Harrow Council said: “We have created the proposed PSPO in layers so that some issues sit as a Borough-wide restriction and others just cover the areas where the issues have been reported – such as parks, town centres, etc. 

“Concerns have been raised on the impact of bird feeding for three reasons: where excessive foods are left which attract rats to the park, food left may not be suitable for consumption of the wildlife in that park and cause injury or death, and [could] attract significant flocks of birds who defecate over persons and property.”

The spokesperson added: “Appropriate and proportional action will be taken for any offences witnessed. It is hoped the publicity around this PSPO will cause persons to not participate in the nuisance behaviour. If people do decide to then a FPN may be given to them.”