'Nuisance' use of megaphones and speakers to be banned in Doncaster city centre
Doncaster Council’s new Public Spaces Protection Orderwill ban the use of “amplified equipment” from being used
New powers to tackle “inappropriate or disruptive” use of megaphones and speakers in Doncaster city centre will come into effect later this year.
The City of Doncaster Council’s new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) will ban the use of “amplified equipment” from being used in “a way that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, distress, nuisance or annoyance”.
Councillor Gemma Cobby, cabinet member for enforcement and regulation, planning and safer communities, said: “The evidence demonstrates that anti-social behaviour remains a persistent issue within the city centre. Between November 2023 and February 2026, there were 1,333 recorded breaches of the PSPO.
“Data for the Town Ward, which includes the city centre, records 597 anti-social behaviour incidents reported to the Council, almost 3,000 incidents recorded by South Yorkshire Police and more than 600 incidents recorded by British Transport Police during the same period.”
The new PSPO, which will come into effect on November 7, 2026, continues with the seven prohibitions included in the previous version renewed in 2023, but adds an eighth with the ban on amplified equipment use.
Visitors to the city centre will still be barred from begging, loitering, consuming alcohol, taking drugs, urinating and defecating, and tampering or loitering around parking equipment.
Additionally, the PSPO states no one can return to the city centre for 24 hours after being asked to leave by an “authorised officer”.
The new prohibition of amplified equipment, which includes megaphones or loud hailers, microphones and speakers, states there is an exemption where their use is permitted with “prior written approval” from Doncaster Council.
Coun Cobby, who was appointed to Mayor Ros Jones’ cabinet in May 2026, confirmed the new ban would include nuisance ‘street preachers’, particularly around “the language they use”.
However, the Town ward councillor said anyone who wishes to use any amplified equipment “as a protest” should contact the council.
“Let the council know. The PSPO is not to put people off their right to free speech,” she explained.
Coun Cobby also said council communities teams, in partnership with other organisations, would support individuals experiencing homelessness in the city centre, as well as outside it, after the PSPO consultation raised concerns that it would just push the issue into neighbouring areas.