YOBS on bikes in Basildon are spitting in people's faces it has been claimed amid fears they could cause life-changing injuries to unsuspecting pedestrians.
Basildon Council is looking to clamp down on antisocial behaviour caused by cyclists as part of its latest annual review of its borough-wide public spaces protection order (PSPO).
The PSPO was introduced in 2022 to tackle antisocial behaviour in public spaces, including town centres and parks.
At a recent council meeting, councillors reviewed the authority’s plans to give greater powers to fine nuisance cyclists up to £100.
Conservative councillor Jeff Henry thinks it is a “really, really, really sound idea” which could prevent vulnerable people from being knocked over by cyclists travelling at “incredible speeds” and suffering “potentially life-changing injuries”.
“We all have to share the same space and we have to be a little bit considerate of each other,” the Laindon Park councillor said.
Hazel Green, the Independent councillor for Nethermayne ward, said she has received reports of residents “being spat at in the face and the kids are riding off on their dirt bikes”.
Will cycling in Basildon town centre be banned?
The council insists it does not want to penalise “well-behaved” cyclists.
“This is not about prohibiting the vast majority of people who will ride their bicycle in the borough in a well-behaved manner and in the appropriate way,” a council officer told councillors.
“This is trying to put something in place to deal with the minority of people that are riding their bicycles in an antisocial way.”
Alex Myers said he has witnessed “antisocial riding” on several occasions in Wickford, where he represents residents in the Castledon ward.
He said he has seen people cycling past parked cars on the wrong side of the road with “vehicles coming towards them while pulling wheelies and cars having to brake very sharply”.
The Tory councillor added: “I think [these plans are] very good, not to penalise people riding bikes but to penalise people doing it stupidly.
“The High Street is not an assault course. It is not where you take your mountain bike to go over ridges and ranges and try out new skills and things like that.”
The council will launch a public consultation before implementing the new rules.
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