People could soon face £100 fines for putting up tents on public land without council permission.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is proposing the ban on 'temporary structures' as part of a revised public space protection order (PSPO) for parks and open spaces.

Council bosses believe the new restriction is needed to help tackle the problem of unauthorised encampments in the borough.

The existing PSPO has been in place since 2023 and includes various prohibitions in relation to dog control and anti-social behaviour, which are set to be carried over into the updated order.

And the draft PSPO also includes a prohibition on erecting 'a temporary structure in a public place without the permission of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council'. Temporary structures would include tents or 'makeshift structures'.

Unauthorised temporary structures are already prohibited in Newcastle town centre under a separate PSPO. The council is now set to launch a 12-week public consultation on the draft parks and open spaces PSPO, which is due to be confirmed in the autumn.

Mobile multi-functional team manager Michelle Hopper explained the reason for the PSPO to members of the public protection committee.

She said: "The renewal of the PSPO is required to address ongoing issues reported regularly in relation to dog fouling, dogs not under control, dog-on-dog attacks and attacks on wildlife, to name just a few.

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"This PSPO also includes specific conditions in relation to alcohol prohibition and unauthorised encampments in our parks and open spaces.

"If this order is not renewed, we will see a loss of enforcement powers from the borough council. We may see an increase in dog fouling and anti-social behaviour, which will ultimately result in a decline in standards across our parks and open spaces."

Committee members asked whether council had powers to issue fines in relation to a recent encampment on land off London Road.

But Ms Hopper explained that this incident took place on private land, meaning there could be no breach of a PSPO.

She added: "The proposal in the draft PSPO relates to unauthorised encampments in our parks and open spaces. So encampments could be dealt with as part of the PSPO enforcement. However, there are other legal tools that we will utilise in terms of the removal of that encampment."

Prohibitions in the existing PSPO which are set to be continued include:

• a prohibition on having an open alcohol container in your possession;
• a requirement to remove dog faeces from publicly accessible land;
• a requirement to put dogs on a lead when told to do so by an authorised officer;
• a prohibition on taking more than six dogs into a public park;
• a requirement to keep dogs on leads in areas such as cemeteries and sports pitches;
• and a prohibition on taking dogs into areas such as children's play areas.

According to a council report, while there is generally a 'high level of compliance' with the PSPO, dog-related complaints represent a 'considerable' caseload for the authority.

The report says there are 42 dog fouling investigations being dealt with by the mobile multi-functional team.

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Committee members agreed to put the draft PSPO out to consultation. The final version of the PSPO will be brought back to the committee for approval in the autumn.

Councillor David Hutchison believes it is important that the council tackles the issue of dog fouling.

He said: "Dog fouling is probably the one thing that councillors get asked about more than anything else in relation to these matters, so I'm very much in favour of what's in this report. We should be enforcing this as much as we can."

If approved, the new PSPO will be in force for three years.