The council says the face covering rule bites only where harm is likely. Its draft order sets no such test. Fines reach £1,000, and views close on 22 September.

West Northamptonshire Council wants to add three new prohibitions to the order that governs behaviour in Northampton town centre, and it is asking residents what they think until Tuesday 22 September. One of the three would cover face coverings.

The council’s consultation page describes that rule narrowly. The draft order it published alongside does not. Read the legal text and the trigger is simply refusing a police officer’s request, with no test of harm attached.

What the council says it is proposing

The Northampton Public Spaces Protection Order runs out in December 2026. The council wants to renew it and add to it. Its consultation page lists the three additions as:

  • Face coverings. A restriction on “the wearing of face coverings that substantially obscure the face, but only where they are worn in circumstances likely to” cause harassment, alarm or distress, or facilitate anti-social behaviour or criminal activity.
  • Doorways and porticos. A ban on “sitting or laying on the floor in or adjacent to any doorway or portico, without the permission of the owner or occupier of the building”.
  • Cash machines. A ban on loitering within 5 metres of a cash machine or a car parking payment station where it causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm, distress, nuisance or annoyance. (West Northamptonshire Council consultation)

What the draft order says

The council has also published the drafted order itself, as an updated version of the Northampton PSPO 2023. Its prohibition 8 reads in full:

Failing to remove a face covering after a Police Constable or Authorised Person has requested that they do so.

There is no reference in that wording to substantially obscuring the face, and no requirement that harassment, alarm, distress or criminal activity be likely. The offence is refusing the request.

The order defines the term broadly. “Face covering” means “a covering of any type which covers all or part of a person’s face and also includes any face mask”. (Northampton PSPO 2023, updated version, PDF)

The other two additions carry across more closely. Prohibition 9 on doorways matches the consultation wording almost word for word, and it too contains no nuisance test: sitting or lying in a doorway without the owner’s express permission is enough. Prohibition 10 on cash machines does carry the harassment and nuisance test, and applies to individuals and groups alike.

The council does address the concern in its own words on the consultation page. It says the order “would not prevent someone from wearing a scarf or face covering because of the weather or while carrying out their normal day-to-day activities”, and that “wherever possible, education, engagement and support will be used first”. Neither of those statements appears in the drafted order, which is the document that would be enforced.

An “Authorised Person” is defined as anyone the council authorises in writing to enforce the order, so this is not a power reserved to police officers.

The fines

The draft order sets out three enforcement routes, all under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014:

  • A Fixed Penalty Notice of £100, offered as an alternative to prosecution, but only if it is paid within 14 days of being issued.
  • A fine of up to £1,000 on summary conviction for breaching the prohibitions, under section 67 of the Act.
  • A fine of up to £500 for failing to comply with a request to stop drinking or hand over alcohol, under section 63.
The ten prohibitions in the draft Northampton Public Spaces Protection Order Seven existing prohibitions carried over from the 2023 order: intoxicating substances; possession of items for taking them; drinking alcohol or carrying an open container; urinating or defecating; spitting; riding a bike or scooter after being asked to stop; busking after being asked to stop. Three new prohibitions proposed: failing to remove a face covering when asked; sitting or lying in a doorway or portico without permission; loitering within 5 metres of a cash machine or parking payment station. Penalties are a 100 pound fixed penalty notice if paid within 14 days, a fine up to 1,000 pounds on conviction, and up to 500 pounds for refusing an alcohol request. Ten prohibitions: seven carried over, three new The draft West Northamptonshire Council (Northampton) Public Spaces Protection Order, out for consultation until 22 September 2026. CARRIED OVER FROM THE 2023 ORDER Using intoxicating substances (not alcohol, tobacco or prescriptions) Possessing items used to take them, including unsealed needles Drinking alcohol, or carrying an open container of it Urinating or defecating outside a toilet Spitting Riding a bike, monocycle or scooter after being asked to stop Busking after being asked to stop PROPOSED ADDITIONS Failing to remove a face covering after being asked to Sitting or lying in a doorway or portico without permission Loitering within 5 metres of a cash machine or payment station £100 fixed penalty, if paid within 14 days £1,000 maximum fine on conviction £500 refusing an alcohol request Source: West Northamptonshire Council (Northampton) Public Spaces Protection Order 2023, updated draft version, August 2026. Graphic by The Northampton Wire

The dates do not quite line up either

The consultation page says the current order “is due to expire in December 2026” and that the restrictions would be renewed “until December 2029”.

The draft order gives a different date. It records that the order came into force on 18 September 2020 for three years, was varied on 25 March 2021, was extended for three years on 12 December 2023, and “is now extended for a further period of three years as of 10th November 2026”.

The same page also refers in one paragraph to “the two proposed new restrictions” and in another to “three further restrictions”. Three are set out in the draft.

Daventry: renewal only, nothing new

The Daventry town centre order is a straight renewal for three years, with no additions. Its three existing restrictions are:

  • drinking alcohol in unauthorised or unlicensed open areas
  • riding a bike or scooter after being asked not to by police or an authorised officer
  • busking after being asked not to

That consultation also closes on 22 September. (West Northamptonshire Council)

What the council and police say

Cllr Charlie Hastie, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe when spending time in our town centres.”

Northamptonshire Police Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector Scott Farrant said: “Public Spaces Protection Orders are an important tool in helping us address anti-social behaviour.”

Mark Mullen, Chief Operating Officer at Northampton BID, said: “We have greatly valued the opportunity to represent our business community.” (West Northamptonshire Council)

What it means for you

  • The order applies to a defined area, not the whole town. The draft describes it as the dark grey area on the map at Appendix 2 of the order, so check the map before assuming a street is in or out.
  • If you have a view on the face covering rule, the wording is the thing to comment on. The consultation summary and the drafted prohibition are not the same, and it is the drafted wording that would be enforced.
  • The cash machine rule has a 5 metre radius and covers parking payment stations, so it reaches the machines on the streets covered by the town centre’s parking and roadworks changes.
  • A fixed penalty is £100 and only stays £100 for 14 days. After that the route is prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.
  • Nothing is decided. Responses go to the council’s Cabinet, which decides whether to make the order.

How to respond

The consultation closes at midnight on Tuesday 22 September 2026. There are three ways in:

  • the council’s online survey
  • email, via the address on the consultation page
  • post, to Northampton PSPO Renewal Consultation, Community Safety and Engagement, West Northamptonshire Council, One Angel Square, The Service Yard, Northampton, NN1 1ED

Sources