The current Designated Area is set out in The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Designated Area) Order 2005
"The provisions relating to the procedure for giving notice of a demonstration and obtaining an authorisation come into force on 1st July 2005. The remaining provisions will come into force on 1st August 2005."
"Designated area 2. - (1) For the purposes of sections 132 to 137 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, the designated area is the area bounded by an imaginary line starting at the point where Hungerford Bridge crosses Victoria Embankment, continuing along Hungerford Bridge to the point where it crosses Belvedere Road, rightwards along Belvedere Road as far as Chicheley Street, leftwards along Chicheley Street as far as York Road, rightwards along York Road, crossing Westminster Bridge Road into Lambeth Palace Road, along Lambeth Palace Road as far as Lambeth Bridge, over Lambeth Bridge, leftwards along Millbank as far as Thorney Street, along Thorney Street as far as Horseferry Road, leftwards along Horseferry Road as far as Strutton Ground, along Strutton Ground crossing over Victoria Street into Broadway, along Broadway as far as Queen Anne's Gate, along Queen Anne's Gate as far as Birdcage Walk, rightwards along Birdcage Walk as far as Horse Guards Road, along Horse Guards Road as far as the Mall, rightwards along the Mall, across the north end of Whitehall as far as Northumberland Avenue, along Northumberland Avenue as far as Victoria Embankment, leftwards along Victoria Embankment returning to the starting point.(2) Subject to paragraph (3), references in paragraph (1) to a named street or other highway include the pavements adjoining that street or other highway on the extremity of the designated area.
(3) The pavements in Trafalgar Square are not included in the designated area."
This is not quite as large as the legislation allows
"3) No point in the area so specified may be more than one kilometre in a straight line from the point nearest to it in Parliament Square."
but that could be changed at any time.
A 1 kilometre zone would cover the front of Buckingham Palace to the west, Waterloo Station to the East , the Tate Gallery to the South, and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to the North.
See the Bloggerheads graphics of the 1km zone and the actual Designated Area.
The current Designated Area, astonishingly covers the London Eye ferris wheel on the other side of the River Thames, but it does not include St. James's Park, only a few metres from Downing Street. It does cover the MI5 Security Service building and the new Home Office buildings, and all of Whitehall, including Downing Street.
Currently, the Metropolitan Police, who have to enforce this legislation, have had no guidance from the Home Office, about what the new procedures, regulations and interpretations of this law are. There is certainly nothing published on their websites which would enable members of the public to determnine if they are inadvertantly breaking the law or not, and risking up to 51 weeks in prison and/or a £2500 fine for "organising, or participating in the organisation" of an unauthorised demonstration, or a £1000 fine for participating in an unauthorised demonstration or holding such a demonstration yourself as an individual.
There is no guidance as to what is meant by a "demonstration", an donly a "reasonable belief" by a "constable in uniform" is required for you to be arrested.
Any of the arbitrary Conditions which the Police can impose, through the written authorisation mechanism, can be varied, amended, or added to by the senior policeman on the spot.
None of this is acceptable in a democracy, and it has to be legally resisted.
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