On your bike!

New crackdown on e-bikes and e-scooters in town

- Kerry Ashdown [e-mail]

RIDING of e-scooters and e-bikes is set to be included in a council crackdown on antisocial behaviour in Newcastle.

Religious groups that set up stalls, tables or leaflet stands in the town centre will also have to seek permission first from Newcastle Borough Council, as part of action to control “temporary structures”.

The town centre has been covered by a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) since 2019.

The order currently in place bans activities such as consuming alcohol in the street, drug taking, littering, urinating in public view and aggressive begging.

Anyone caught falling foul of the order can face a fine.

A Newcastle Borough Council report revealed that eight fixed penalty notices were issued to people caught breaching the town centre PSPO during 2023, doubling to 16 in 2024. In the first seven months of this year, four were given out.

The PSPO covering the town centre is now due for renewal.