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Public Spaces Protection Order on Unauthorised Riverbank Mooring Irrational (Trower v Elmbridge Borough Council)

Published on: 07 May 2025

Table of contents

  • What are the practical implications of this case?
  • What was the background?
  • What did the court decide?
  • Case details

Article summary

Local Government analysis: The claimant challenged the Council’s Public Spaces Protection Order (the Order), prohibiting unauthorised mooring of boats at riverbanks in the Council’s area, on numerous grounds. One of these was that the Order was underinclusive, in that it allowed for suspension of the Order when there were risks on the river downstream of the relevant area but not for upstream risks. The court concluded that the Order was irrational in so far as it did not provide for suspension of the prohibition when there were upstream and downstream risks. The Order was insufficiently certain so as to guide river users as to their conduct in similar circumstances. The defect in the Order in these respects could not be saved by a policy on when breaches of the Order would not be prosecuted. Written by Denis Edwards, barrister, Normanton Chambers.

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