Report by the Environmental Health Manager (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Environmental Health Manager (circulated previously) regarding the Public Spaces Protection Order (Dog Control) 2024.

The Environmental Health Manager highlighted the following:

·       On 4 September 2023 the approved a three year review and consultation on the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) Dog Controls, which was due to expire on 31 December 2023.

·       The public consultation had now taken place and he thanked officers for their time in supporting this process by attending meetings with parish and town councils and professional dog walkers, radio production and promotion of the consultation. He also thanked the Corporate and Community Services team for their support with undertaking the public consultation process and the collation and analysis of the results.

·       He advised that a booklet had been produced containing the consultation responses which was available to Members of the Committee to collect.

·       The public consultation responses have provided widespread support for adding or retaining dog controls for fouling, lead requirements, dog exclusion areas, temporary restrictions for ‘hot spot’ areas (fouling or anti-social behaviours), limits on dogs per person on and off lead, extendable leads and the new proposed paw print signage scheme.

·       A revised Draft Order was provided in Appendix A of the report.

·       The current conditions to be retained for fouling, lead requirements and exclusions.

·       The current signage used to encourage compliance of dog walkers.

·       The additional conditions proposed in relation to fouling, lead requirements and temporary restrictions.

·       The proposed new paw print signs to provide a clear and graphical understanding of dog control restrictions and encourage compliance as dog walkers enter and exit from one area to another.

·       Proposed limitation on the number of dogs per individual person.

·       The proposed exemption from the rule of 3 for validated professional dog walkers and proposed dog walking code of practice.  Discussions had taken place with 30 professional dog walkers.  Dog walker professionals would use their experience, training and risk assessments to judge appropriate times and spaces to allow more than 3 dogs off the lead at one time. This ensured their business was not negatively impacted and created an alliance of professionals in the area. They would be required to carry identification to demonstrate that they were professional dog walkers and following the code of practice.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Environmental Health Manager advised the following:

·       The length of the period of temporary restriction of “dog exclusion” in such an area if standard interventions were failing to have an effect and a temporary restriction for “Dogs on a lead” had not brought about a change in behaviour, should be made in consensus with other members of the community such as Parish and Town Councils.

·       The appropriate limit to the number of dogs which was be exercised off lead or on an extendable leads at any time in a public space was proposed to be no more than six dogs at once. This wording could be amended to include up to six dogs that the dog walker was capable of looking after.

·       There were a limited number of locations where it was proposed that  dogs would be required to be kept on a lead at all times. These included Croyde bay dunes, municipal cemeteries, churchyards and graveyards and Council owned land.   Croyde bay was privately owned, however private landowners could adopt restrictions in consultation with the Council.

·       One of the Council’s approaches in relation to dog fouling was to spray a chalk line around the deposit to make it visible to other people.  The Council will take enforcement action for non-compliance when it had sufficient evidence.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the ‘retained’ and ‘added’ controls in Section 4.0 of the report be approved;

(b)  That delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning, Housing and Heath to make the Public Spaces Protection Order 2024 (Appendix A) in line with the provisions in Section 4.0 of the report;

(c)  That the Voluntary Dog Walkers Code of Practice, Policy development and a Registration Scheme for professional dog walkers (reference to Section 4.7) be approved.