CAMDEN Council last night (Wednesday) approved new powers to impose £100 fines – nicknamed “wee fees” – on anybody caught urinating in public.

The on-the-spot penalties are likely to hit late-night revellers who leave trails of urine at bus stops and against lamp-posts.

The council is invoking the use of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) which police and council patrols will be able to use to “address public urination”.

The “wee fees” were agreed at a meeting of the Town Hall cabinet, the inner cabal of 10 senior councillors who have the final say on policy.

Community safety chief Cllr Jonathan Simpson said: “Public urination is a particular problem and concern for our communities. The police say they would help us enforce it and would support it and it would work with existing patrols. It has been broadly welcomed by people who live in areas with a high element of the night-time economy. Residents have to suffer from this. Giving police power to fine, rather than arrest someone, will free up their time.”

The cabinet report said there had been 29 complaints around “public urination” since April. The order makes it a criminal offence to urinate in the street and anyone refusing to pay the “wee fee” risks being taken to court.

The PSPOs  – similar to an Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) – can also be used to punish a wide range of offences, including dog control, or anything judged “anti-social”, Cllr Simpson said. 

He said more pop-up toilets could be installed if Camden Council’s proposed “night-time levy” – a clean-up charge set to be imposed on late-night clubs and bars – is introduced. 

But Conservative leader Cllr Claire-Louise Leyland said she had a “little bit of concern” about whether it was right to fine a homeless person for urinating in the street. 

She added: “I know we have all noticed an increase in people sleeping rough in Camden. I wonder, do we have as much grip on that community as we once did? There are clearly people on the routes I’m walking who aren’t being helped. I have a little bit of concern about what is the impact of this on them?” 

Cllr Jonathan Simpson said the scheme was not about penalising the “street population” but was about targeting the “ill-effects of the night time economy”.

He added: “There has been an increase in homelessness in Camden, mainly because of the government’s housing policy. We are committed to addressing that, but often people have very complex needs.”

Housing chief Councillor Pat Callaghan said: “The people, especially in Camden Lock, are victims of the night-time economy – they come out and find all sorts on their doorstep. It stinks like hell in summer months. Anything we can do to stop this, I welcome it.”