Irresponsible pet owners could face fines of up to £1,000 under a new Chesterfield Borough Council crackdown to stamp out dog-fouling problems and disturbances in sensitive public places.
The council agreed during a recent Cabinet meeting to approve a dog control Public Spaces Protection Order with new rules for dog owners in certain places across the borough including children’s play areas, parks, lakes, and sports pitches concerning the use of leads and dog-fouling.
A council spokesperson stated: “Approving the proposed PSPO dog control will enable the continued investigation and enforcement of dog-fouling and dog-related issues in parks and open spaces.
“Minimising dog-related issues in parks, open spaces and publicly accessible land contributes to making Chesterfield a cleaner and safer town and improves the quality of life for residents.”
In October 2014, the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act came into force and made provisions for local authorities to introduce Public Spaces Protection Orders.
Breaching a PSPO is a criminal offence and a PSPO can be enforced by any officer authorised by the local authority including a police constable.
A breach of a PSPO may be dealt with either through issuing a fixed penalty notice with a demand for up to a statutory maximum payment of £100 or by prosecution.
Failure to pay a fixed penalty notice can result in the case being progressed to a prosecution and in such cases where an individual is convicted the maximum possible fine is £1,000.
Statistics collated by council teams including Environmental Health, a Housing Ranger, and Estates Management and Green Spaces officers recorded, in 2023, a total of 188 official complaints of dog fouling, 38 complaints concerning allegations of dangerous dogs in addition to anecdotal complaints about dog-fouling and nuisance dogs in housing areas and parks spaces.
A public consultation, organised by the council, revealed 99.6per cent of respondents agreed with dog-fouling enforcement, 97.4per cent agreed dogs should be on leads in named cemeteries and grave areas, and 93.4per cent agreed dogs should be excluded from named children’s play areas.
The consultation also included 86per cent of respondents being in agreement, that at Holmebrook Valley Park and Poolsbrook Country Park, dogs must be on a lead around the lake, the pavilion area and in the car park.
And at Norbriggs Flash and Brearley wetlands, 89.5per cent agreed that dogs must be on a lead during bird nesting season and 81.2per cent agreed that the council should continue to ban dogs from names football pitches during the football season.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s Cabinet formally approved the proposed dog control PSPO during a meeting on July 16 with the following requirements:
Dogs must be on leads at named locations such as around the lake at Holmebrook Valley Park; Dogs must be excluded all year at certain named locations including identified children’s play areas and the cricket pitch at Queens Park; Dogs will be excluded for some of the year at named locations including football pitches between September and May; Dogs can be directed to be on leads in all publicly accessible spaces; Fouling is to be picked up in public areas; Dogs must be kept on a leads during an extended period of the bird nesting season between February and August at nature reserves such as Norbriggs Flash; And dogs will be excluded from the multi-use games area at Eastwood Park.
Chesterfield Borough Council stated that the PSPO can be in place for a maximum of three years and there is no limit on the number of times that
PSPOs can be renewed.
The UK’s Kennel Club organisation supports the council’s PSPO restrictions with regards to dog-fouling, according to the council, and it is not opposed to excluded areas as long as alternatives are provided and available and it also supports dogs being on leads in appropriate places.
