Don’t miss out on having your say about tackling dog fouling

Cllr Paul Bates (1)

Residents are urged not to miss their chance to have a say on potential moves to crack down on dog fouling and dog control in Cheshire East.

Cheshire East Council is holding a public consultation to seek residents' views around the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) specifically to tackle dog fouling and dog control across the borough.

The authority has already had more than 1,000 responses – but the deadline of October 10 is looming fast.

The proposed PSPO is designed to enable the council to more-effectively combat dog fouling and introduce certain dog control requirements.

Councillor Paul Bates, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for finance and communities, said: "We are a listening council and we want to hear people's views on our proposals to encourage responsible dog ownership.

"So if you want your voice to be heard, it just takes a few minutes to fill in the survey online. This is an important issue and the council wants all parts of the community to have a say in shaping the policies that help make Cheshire East such an attractive place to live, work, locate a business and visit."

The PSPO would allow the council to:

● Tackle dog fouling in all public places within Cheshire East borough;
● Allow authorised officers to tell a dog owner/walker to put and keep their dog on a lead if necessary, for example, if their dog was showing aggressive behaviour;
● Issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of up to £100. A failure to pay the FPN may lead to prosecution and a potential maximum fine of £1,000, as would more serious breaches of the PSPO.

Cheshire East Council has a statutory duty to keep land clear of litter and refuse (including dog fouling) and a duty of care for dealing with waste. The authority also has a duty to take action against irresponsible individuals who fail to clear up after their dogs on land which is open to the public. Not only is dog mess highly unpleasant, it is also a hazard to health – particularly to children.

Introducing the PSPO would allow the council to replace and extend the existing dog controls and byelaws. This will give a consistent approach across the borough to dog fouling as well as introduce dog control requirements to encourage responsible dog ownership.

This consultation began on September 12th and runs until October 10th. Before bringing the PSPO into effect, the council will consider the responses to this public consultation. If the PSPO is brought into effect, the council would publicise this ahead of the implementation date.

Click here to view the Dog fouling and control PSPO survey.

If you need further information or help with the survey, please ring our anti-social behaviour team on 0300 123 50 30 or email them at: [email protected].

Photo: Cllr Paul Bates.

Tags:
Cheshire East Council, Dog Fouling
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

John Featherstone
Wednesday 4th October 2017 at 2:56 pm
more pathetic nonsense and wasting time and money over dog poo, just sums up Cheshire east nothing better to do what crazy lot,
Fiona Doorbar
Wednesday 4th October 2017 at 5:08 pm
Instead of trying to police the minority that are irresponsible dog owners the money would be better spent on installing more bins. Whilst on subject of bins.....have the council finally realised we need a green bin collection through the Winter months? (it's all gone quiet as to when collections may cease so do we assume collection is continuing until Spring?)
Ruth McNulty
Wednesday 4th October 2017 at 5:54 pm
Dog fouling blights many of our pavements and public spaces in Wilmslow. As a member not only of the Clean Team but also of the Lindow Common Advisory Group, I am disappointed by the lack of social responsibility of a small number of dog owners or walkers, who either don't collect their dogs' waste or who bag it and then throw into nearby greenery.
We have been aerosol spraying fouling - with a bright coloured powder - on Lindow Common for some months and this does appear to have reduced the amount of abandoned waste.
If you would like to join our local independent and determined campaign to help identify and stop foul remains on our streets, please let me know
Ruth McNulty Chair Edible Wilmslow In Bloom
Estelle Lewis
Thursday 5th October 2017 at 11:17 am
My friends and I (all responsible dog owners) tried to launch a 'pick up dog poop' campaign several years ago in the Carrs. I printed loads of posters and shared them out with a box of drawing pins each and we all set to pinning them to the trees in the Carrs. One poster kept getting ripped down (it was a Photo-shopped pic of two joggers, one just about to step in a large poop). Next came the biggest shock of all when I was informed that if the said posters were not removed I would be prosecuted for fly-posting! What?!
One poster I made still features in the notice board in the Twinnies bridge car-park. My grandson Jay aged about three with my Mastiff, Bruno, this poster is 20 years old and is the only remnant left of our campaign, I gave up after that final slap in the face