Following a number of complaints regarding out of control dogs in the town park, owners may be forced to keep their dogs on leads in specified areas of* The Carrs.
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member for environmental services, said: "Cheshire East Council is proposing to consult with the public regarding the introduction of Dog Control Orders for The Carrs in Wilmslow that will, if supported, be robustly enforced.
"This follows a number of complaints from residents about the ability of dog owners to curtail their pets' behaviour in a popular public place where children are at play."
If a 28 day public consultation proves favourable to the proposals, Cheshire East Council will enforce the following:
- Fouling of Land by Dogs Order
- A Dogs (Specified Maximum) Order (this would specify that one owner be in charge of no more than four dogs)
- A Dogs on Leads Order
- A Dogs on Leads by Direction Order (to enforce a dog owner to use a lead)
For those who flout the law it is proposed that there will be a £75 fixed penalty notice with a maximum fine of £1,000.
Councillor Rod Menlove added "Cheshire East Council is committed to improving the environment, and these proposals tackle an issue that residents in the area are clearly concerned about.
"The public should be reassured that if there are any objections received on this matter, it will be referred back to me for further consideration so that all points of view are heard."
*Updated: This article was updated on Monday 30th April.
Cheshire East Council are not proposing to introduce a Dogs on Leads Order for the whole of the park but for the area located adjacent to Chancel Lane and north of the River Bollin, which includes both the playing fields and children's play area.
Sorry for the confusion but the information I received last week was incomplete. The Cabinet Members for Environmental Services and Prosperity are discussing the proposed dog control orders for The Carrs this morning.
Click here for maps to show the proposed areas for Dogs on Leads Order and Dogs on Leads by Direction Order.
Do you think dogs should be kept on leads in The Carrs? Please share your thoughts about the proposed new laws via the comment box below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
What is the point of The Carrs then?
Here, why don’t the council actually do something useful for once, like sorting out smashed glass!?
This is just bluntly idiotic, dogs need to run around, that’s what The Carrs is known for. For dogs being dogs, and for dog owners to respect what they must and must not do.
Like Kenneth said, just police fouling and antiscocial behaviour.
I regularly walk around the carrs with my 2 dogs, one I keep on a lead now he's old and can't hear, and one off the lead that is under control. When around the children's play area I keep both dogs on lead or at heel as the area is for kids to play not dog walking. If these daft suggestions are imposed then I hope alot of people boycott the carrs, at least it would be additional green belt for the "wilmslow vision project" to build on.
Surely a more sensible solution would be to have an area around the kids play area where dog leads are compulsory and this should be rigorously enforced. Also where dogs are out of control, as mentioned aboved, surely existing legislation can provide for these circumstances.
Just out of interest, who is going to pay for this additional enforcement of these new rules? Would limited council budgets be better spent elsewhere?
You may as well say lets ban all children/ young people under 18 from the Carrs unless they are under parental supervision, because a small proportion are hooligans.
I agree with Keith above though that we should have stiff fines for those few owners who can't control their dogs or don't clean up after them, but please don't ruin it for the vast majority of responsible owners.
What Councillor Menlove has also failed to realise is that if this rule is implemented, other areas around the town such as Lindow Common will just become over-run.....or is it the plan to ban dogs off leads full-stop?
I'd love to know how this would be policed too. Surely there's not a lot in the council pot for 'Carrs Park Rangers'!
Unfortunately, small children are easily frightened especially of larger dogs, and there are quite a few dogs, (frequently young and not yet or not enough trained) that will run to 'investigate' children in the new play areas next to the Parish Hall.
Given that there are multiple entrance to the Carrs, could we not just be good neighbours and use the westernmost areas of the Carrs, (where the second car park is, and no children's play facilities) to exercise our dogs and let the children enjoy the area around their climbing frames).
There is one bit of the regulation I would welcome though: the number of dogs controlled by one person. More than four at a time really is not sensible, especially if they are large dogs and off the leash. A Pack of dogs is a frightening experience to human, child and single dog alike.
I understand your frustration with the irresponsible/ arrogant dog walkers that don't clear up after their dogs or keep their dogs under control, and agree that these people should be penalised for their behaviour. There is already legislation in place to deal with this but i've never seen a Dog Warden or Council worker at the Carrs looking for "offenders". So i'm struggling to understand who will inforce these new rules.
Whilst we are on the subject of messing up the Carrs, maybe we could have someone responsible for handing out litter fines for the amount of rubbish that is dropped during hot sunny days around the BBQ area. Or I suggest everyone that uses the Carrs whether it be a Dog Walker, Picnicker, or afternoon drinker respects the facility and cleans up after themselves.
Due to the attitudes of people who don't train their dogs, most of the poorly behaved dogs are only out on nice sunny days and are manic because they are not exercised enough for the rest of the time. If enforcement for this can be afforded then why not just focus on the problem dogs?
The majority of people who use the Carrs know it is a haven for dogs and the majority who complain use the park only a few days a year, on nice days, THE SAME DAYS THE POORLY TRAINED DOGS GO OUT!
On the subject of dogs fouling, why have so many poo bins been removed or left unemptied when over flowing? Puts some bins near the middle bridge and people will be much more likey to clean up after themselves.
My solution would be to extend the fence of the the original play area to encompass the skatepark and new play area, and maybe that side of the footpath all the way to the bridge at black hill. A lot cheaper than wardens I'd imagine and doesn't penalise responsible dog owners.
If Mr Menlove wants to improve the Carrs, how about making our neglected tennis courts usable again?
Hopefully the need for all dogs to be on a leash in The Carrs will not come to pass but while certain dog owners (the small minority) continue to behave as if The Carrs are their own back garden then it will remain a possibilty.
Perhaps our councillors could address the matter of the tennis courts, broken glass, rubbish, dog mess (lack of bins for both), emptying of bins in summer, and other general small scale facilities before they move on to grandiose master plans for our future.
On one occasion (just less than a month ago) I was finally bitten by a dog! The dog left a wound, and the gormless dog owner just made ineffectual noises at the dog, instead of picking it up. (Many of these dog owners that allow their dogs to chase runners just stand there ineffectually telling Fido to not chase the runner, instead of moving their asses to fetch Fido and put the lead on him...)
I don't want to have to kick dogs, but if I see the dog again I will have to do so in order to defend myself, as I don't like being bitten and it was not a pleasant run to have to run the remaining 2 miles back home with a bleeding bite.
We should also enforce the no-fouling law: I often see plastic bags with dog poop in them hung on trees(!), and in some cases it is just due to plain lazy dog owners, and in other cases due to the paucity of empty garbage bins: such a nice park, but it needs more rubbish bins,more regular rubbish collection, and strict enforcement of the no-fouling rules!
Here comes the bit you won't like... You could choose a different route to take your run home, we can't let our dogs off lead safely in other places. The Carrs attracts dog walkers because of it's size and also because it is away from the dangers of roads and other livestock. I can imagine it is a lovely place to jog through but if this is a recurring event and you refuse to stop running when it causes this reaction in the animal, then you are not making efforts to stop it happening either.
I think a lot of people don't realise what they see in their dog as a play behaviour can be seen as threatening. Ironically, I often get funny looks when i call my dogs to me, as some people seem to interpret this as me calling a dangerous dog back to me. However this is just me being responsible. As a staffie x breed i understand that people may feel threatened if she ran straight to them to throw her stick for her so i make sure she doesn't.
What worries me is that many owners don't realise is that any dog behaviour that makes people feel threatened is a contravention of the dangerous dogs act. As such the owner can be made criminally responsible for the behaviours that you have experienced. I'm cautious for putting the above statement on a public forum as unfortunately under this legislation it is usually the dog that comes off worse than the owner.
Please can the council see good sense to forget about these proposals and use the resources they would need to enforce then to enforce current laws and to improve the waste facilities so people have no excuses to litter the Carrs.
I recently moved to Wilmslow, I didn't know the area but people had told me that Wilmslow was lovely. So I was surprised that the first thing that struck me was the mess of the park on sunny days, so many people just don't seem to care or respect the free spaces they are given, or think it's the councils job to clean up behind them.
I love the Carrs, I walk there 3-4 times a day every day of the year. I meet the same dog walkers every day and most of them care more about the Carrs than most non dog owning Wilmslow residents. Why? because like me they use it every day, rain or shine, they appreciate it and want to look after it.
Ban the dog walkers and you ban the people who care about the Carrs the most. Shame on you Wilmslow. I'll be moving somewhere else if this goes ahead.
Cheshire East Council are not proposing to introduce a Dogs on Leads Order for the whole of the park but for the area located adjacent to Chancel Lane and north of the River Bollin, which includes both the playing fields and children’s’ play area.
Sorry for the confusion but the information I received last week made no mention of the orders being restricted to specific areas. The Cabinet Members for Environmental Services and Prosperity are discussing the proposed dog control orders for The Carrs this morning.
Click here for maps to show the proposed areas for Dogs on Leads Order and Dogs on Leads by Direction Order. http://bit.ly/IzBWPi.
However I'm still not sure how they plan to "patrol" this zone and i hope it won't start costing thousands to patrol and sign post. If done properly by local PCSO's or wardens that can also deal with littering, and anti social behaviour, I hope it improves the Carrs for everyone.