Published on
7 October 2025
Residents' views sought on measures against car cruising
Renewed order is proposed to continue successful fight against anti-social behaviour issue in borough
A public consultation has launched on a proposal to renew a ‘car cruising’ Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for three more years in Wokingham Borough.
A four-week consultation opened on Tuesday 7 October and runs until Sunday 2 November. Borough residents are encouraged to comment and have their say.
A renewed order would extend an identical, existing PSPO which, since 2022, has been hugely successful in reducing reported incidents of car cruising in the borough by 41 per cent annually.
An updated PSPO would continue to grant the council and Thames Valley Police powers to tackle dangerous and anti-social behaviour, in relation to the issue, and support the four pillars of the council’s 2025-30 plan for a fair, green, safe and connected borough.
“We all have a right to live in a safe place and borough,” said Cllr Lou Timlin, the executive member for Community Safety and Public Protection. “The behaviour of a very few can fail to respect that.
“We’ve seen here how effective a tool a Public Spaces Protection Order has been, addressing this problem in the last three years.
“As a council, we saw and we continue to see the weight of feeling and complaints from our residents, whose quality of life is significantly negatively impacted by this issue. In that light, instances of this anti-social behaviour cannot be left unchallenged by powers which are potentially available to us.”
Zero reoffending rate following fixed penalty notices
‘Car cruising’ describes drivers who meet to race or to show off their vehicles. PSPOs tackle anti-social behaviour associated with this, which includes dangerous driving, racing, and aggressive acceleration and braking.
When residents were previously consulted in 2022, on the original proposed PSPO, 75 per cent said they would support its introduction in the borough.
Under the resulting order, more than half of reported incidents of dangerous and anti-social behaviour, in relation to car cruising, resulted in offenders receiving a fixed penalty notice of up to £100. Notably, nobody who received a fixed penalty notice was caught reoffending in relation to car cruising.
Over the last three years in total, 144 incidents of car cruising (48 per year, on average) have been reported to the council or Thames Valley Police, and 73 fixed penalty notices have been issued. Previously over a 12-month period, from January 2021 to January 2022, a higher annual rate of 82 incidents was reported.
There have been three hotspots for car cruising in the borough: Thames Valley Business Park in Woodley; Carnival Pool Car Park in Wokingham town; and Mereoak Park and Ride near Three Mile Cross.
