Website of the UK government

What byelaws do

Examples include:

• opening hours for parks and public spaces
• safety rules at arcades and fairs
• stopping people cycling or skating on public paths
• saying where games can be played on beaches
• making sure market stall holders clean up at the end of the day

How byelaws are made

Your council can’t make byelaws without giving local people a chance to see them and have their say. Otherwise the byelaw isn’t valid. The process is:

• your council consults with local people and responds to concerns
• a draft of the byelaw needs to be approved by government
• your council advertises the byelaw in the local paper
• you can inspect the document at your council’s offices for at least one month
• you can ask for your own copy but you may have to pay a small fee to cover costs
• the Secretary of State approves or rejects the byelaw
• if approved he sets a date for it to become law (usually a month later)
• you can then see a copy of the confirmed byelaw at your council’s offices

How byelaws are enforced

If you break a byelaw you may get a penalty fine. At the moment the council will need to take you to the magistrates’ court to make you pay. If this happens to you it does not mean you have a criminal conviction. The fine you get is related to the offence and is around £75.

Instead of a fine, you might get a fixed penalty notice. These work like parking tickets – you have to pay in a set number of days and there is a discount if you pay early. You’ll end up with a bigger fine if you don’t pay.

Some cases may still go to the magistrates’ court if the byelaw break is more serious, for example when someone is injured after a road sign warning of a hole in the road is removed.