Thanet council proposes swear ban to curb anti-social behaviour

The proposed Public Space Protection Order could see anyone breaching the rules face a fine of up to a hundred pounds. Bartholomew Hall reports.

Transcript

00:00Sun, sea and swearing? Well, soon that may be a thing of the past. At least that's what

00:06Thanet District Council is hoping for its beaches, as the local authority is planning

00:10to bring in a public space protection order that will see cursing banned.

00:15Anyone caught using foul or abusive language could be fined up to £100. The idea is to

00:20help officials tackle anti-social behaviour on the seafront and to keep the area family-friendly.

00:25But in recent weeks, Broadstairs' beachfront has been anything but. These were the scenes

00:32back in June when the area saw days of violence and anti-social behaviour, resulting in five

00:37arrests and one boy charged with assaulting a police officer.

00:41We thought it was just mindless chaos. We were quite worried about them pushing their way

00:47in here.

00:48It's not the first time a scheme of its kind has been put forward for Thanet. Another

00:52public space protection order, including rules on swearing, was revoked by the local

00:56authority last year. Opinions on the beachfront today, however, were mixed.

01:01We were brought up streets, weren't we, and not swearing or anything like that, but it hasn't

01:06changed for years and years and years. I can't see it changing at all.

01:09I don't think it's about swearing anti-social behaviour. I think it's about the bars selling

01:15cheap lager on the beach.

01:16I think it's hard to control that because, oh, I guess putting cameras maybe there and

01:23microphones.

01:24There's an element of free speech, but I suppose there's an element of what is acceptable swearing

01:29and what isn't acceptable swearing.

01:30I think it should happen. There's groups of youngsters, not just locals, they're coming

01:34down by train and everything, and they're just causing trouble.

01:39And for the businesses working on the front line, anything would help to scoop away disorder.

01:44It's not a bad idea. I just don't know how they'd go about doing it. So I don't think

01:49you could go around to every single person at once going, checking every word they're

01:54saying.

01:55Thanet District Council told us a spokesperson wasn't able to speak before the proposal

01:59had been officially heard by the authority. But it did give us this statement. Anti-social

02:04behaviour can have a damaging effect on our local community. We've sadly seen situations

02:08in our public spaces recently which have escalated. To be clear, the restriction around language

02:13is not aimed at preventing free speech or swearing, but foul language that is such to cause

02:17fear, distress or alarm. Evidence gathered by officers indicates that this is a significant

02:22issue impacting residents.

02:25Cabinet members are expected to consider the proposed order later this month, but until then

02:29it's hoped the end of recent heatwaves can help melt the tensions for now. Bartholomew

02:34Hall for KMTV in Broadstairs.