Rules covering behaviour in Stone town centre could be renewed and widened as Stafford Borough Council looks again at its Public Spaces Protection Order.
The borough council’s Cabinet will be asked to approve the renewal of the existing order for a further three years when it meets on Thursday 18 June 2026.
The current Public Spaces Protection Order, often shortened to PSPO, covers a range of issues including alcohol, dogs, vehicles in pedestrianised areas, bicycles and scooters, loitering, tents, canvassing, busking, feeding birds and barbecues.
Stone is one of the areas covered by town centre restrictions, with the current mapped area including the pedestrianised town centre zone.
Cabinet papers say the existing order expires on 6 December 2026. The council is now being asked to approve a renewal, along with several changes and additions.
The proposals include new rules on unauthorised access to buildings and rooftops, face coverings, loitering, dog exclusion areas and amplified busking.
If Cabinet agrees the proposals, a formal order would still need to be drafted and consulted on before coming into force. The report says consultation would run for around six weeks, and any reasonable objections would be considered before the order is finalised.
Loitering rules could cover any size group
One of the bigger proposed changes is to loitering.
Current signs in Stone town centre state that groups of five or more are not allowed to gather or loiter in restricted areas. Under the proposed changes, the council would remove the minimum number of people required for the loitering rule to apply, where behaviour is causing, or is likely to cause, anti social behaviour.
The council is also proposing to extend the loitering restriction across the whole borough, rather than limiting it to the current restricted areas.
The Cabinet report says 89 dispersal orders have been issued by police in the borough over the previous 12 month period. It says the PSPO would give officers another tool to deal with behaviour causing, or likely to escalate into, anti social behaviour.
The report also says the PSPO would not target any particular group, or prevent law abiding people who are not committing anti social behaviour from meeting.
New rules proposed on face coverings and rooftops
The council is also proposing new borough wide restrictions on face coverings.
The proposed wording would prohibit a person from wearing a face covering that wholly or substantially obscures the face, where that covering is worn in circumstances likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, or to facilitate anti social behaviour or criminal activity.
The report says the restriction would not target people wearing face coverings for genuine religious purposes, genuine medical or health reasons, personal protective equipment, or where required by law.
A separate proposed restriction would cover people climbing onto, or accessing, buildings, roofs or elevated structures across the borough without lawful authority or a legitimate purpose.
The Cabinet report says there have been 62 known incidents since January 2025 linked to young adults accessing rooftops and elevated buildings without consent. The evidence described in the report refers to an emerging issue within Stafford, but the proposed restriction would apply across the whole borough.
Busking rule could be softened
The proposals also include a change to amplified busking.
The current PSPO prohibits busking with an amplifier in the pedestrianised areas of Stone and Stafford town centres. The issue drew attention in Stone earlier this year after local performer Shaun Walker said he was disappointed by the restriction.
A Little Bit of Stone previously reported that Stone Town Council had opposed adding busking as a restriction during the original consultation. At the time, the town council said amplifiers should not be restricted “up to the point when they become a public nuisance”.
The new proposal would no longer prohibit all amplified busking. Instead, it would prohibit the use of amplified sound equipment where it causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress, or a public nuisance to others in the restricted area.
The report says the change would seek to balance well managed busking with controls against nuisance. Busking zones were considered, but have not been proposed.
If the new wording is approved, someone using amplified sound equipment could be required by an authorised officer to reduce the volume or stop.
Fines and next steps
Breaching the PSPO without a reasonable excuse would be an offence.
The Cabinet report says fixed penalty notices would be £100, reduced to £75 if paid within 10 days. If a case went to court, the maximum penalty would be £500 for breaching alcohol restrictions and £1,000 for other restrictions.
The report says fixed penalty notices can be issued to anyone over the age of 10, although the council says it would normally only consider issuing them to those aged over 14. For young people up to the age of 18, this would be done in consultation with youth justice services.
The council says warnings, diversion, signposting and support may often be enough, and that this will be the preferred first response in many cases.
Cabinet will consider the report at its meeting at the Civic Centre in Stafford on Thursday 18 June 2026, starting at 6.30pm (Council Meeting Agenda).
