Signs are going up to remind people of Cheshire East Council's new beefed-up powers to crack down on dog fouling and dog control – to help keep our parks, nature reserves and open spaces pleasant for all.
It follows overwhelming public support for tougher controls put forward by the council during its recent borough-wide consultation.
The council introduced the new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) on 1 November 2017, specifically to tackle dog fouling and dog control across the borough.
New signs are now being installed across parks, nature reserves and open spaces to remind everyone of the new rules and to warn dog owners they could be fined for failing to pick up after their dog or keep their dog under control.
Fiona Reynolds, director of public health for Cheshire East, said: "We want everyone to enjoy the Cheshire East countryside and make the most of our beautiful parks, nature reserves and open spaces this spring.
"To ensure areas are safe and clean for everyone to use, we have to be strict about asking dog owners to keep their dogs under control and to pick up after their dog. Failing to do this could see dog owners fined between £100 and £1,000 under the new Public Spaces Protection Order.
"Most people are very responsible when walking their dogs and are happy to keep to these simple rules and we thank them for helping us to maintain pleasant green spaces for all to enjoy."
The main features of the PSPO allow the council to:
● Tackle those that fail to pick up after their dog 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; and
● Issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £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 young children. Roundworm eggs found in dog mess (toxocara canis) can easily be picked up by children. This causes stomach upsets, sore throats, asthma and, in some cases, blindness.
Introducing the PSPO last November allowed the council to replace and extend the existing dog controls and byelaws to give a consistent approach across the borough to dog fouling and introduce dog control requirements to encourage responsible dog ownership and ensure that everyone is able to enjoy our publicly-accessible open areas, woodland, heath land, country parks and public spaces safely.
A national survey found 95 per cent of Britons are worried about the amount of dog fouling. The council recognises that most dog owners are responsible and clean up after their pets but a small minority continue to cause problems.
Click here to see the full details of the public space protection order.
Comments
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It would be good to have a 'full' explanation of that!
Consult the search engine of your choice.
The roundworm Toxocara canis (there's a similar species for cats by the way); is also present in foxes and cats. In dogs its usually only found in young puppies. Dog worming treatent, which most A.E. dogs have, removes/kills the roundworm. Infection in humans is rare/unusual.
Cleary no one wants to risk harm to humans, but please do not get carried away with the whole 'hazard' allegation.
Value for money? Can we be told how much all this signage etc. is to cost?
Considering that C.E. are cutting back on supporting facilities for the elderly (see a recent article in alderleyedge.com) is this work about dogs truly needed?
Here you go Duncan
re. your second/shorter entry. It adds nothing new i.e. worming dogs will prevent any harm to children and fresh poo is (your quote reveals) harmless re. roundworms.
re. your first entry (above 13th march).
1. I am a dog walker. We dog walkers tend to talk about our dogs (as well as potitics and the arboreal vandalism currently being effected upon the park!) and all the walkers' dogs have been wormed. Yes its a small sample but it is at least 100%.
2. Concerning poo-bags left out. Look at it from another perspective i.e. the people have scooped up the actual poo but as the N.T. seem to be too posh (see above) for bins, people don't want to carry poo around. Put bins on the Edge and the problem of poo and poo bags may just disappear (as poo does anyway after a decent rainfall).
3. Yes I am often cynical. People go on about poo but do not mention broken glass, food trays, drink cans etc., none of which are bio-degradable and all of which can be seen in the park!
to alter your words, "Duncan (from his comments) ALWAYS picks up 'his' poo, plus any feral poo noticed. As do the community minded majority of dog owners.The good people!
My words were to ask that poo bags hanging about show that dog owners do pick up the poo, and If C.E., or in the case of the Edge, the N.T. 'did their bit' by providing bins, the 'problem' might well virtually disapear.
Still none of the 'dog complainers' see fit to complain about the bottles/broken glass/plastic food trays etc. Is there a 'perceptual blindness', whereby the non-degradable krap is over-looked, but the fairly harmless poo is banged on about?
Remove the beam from your own eyes before criticising the mote in mine?
well said!
Who might collect from the bins? There are already volunteers at the Edge and perhaps such civic-minded people might?
the word mystified is incorrect; the better word is deluded!
Oh and Duncan I applaud these folk cleaning up the filthy parts of Wilmslow and they single out the antisocial booze drinkers and the antisocial dog owners who adorn the hedgrow with their beloved poo bags do you blame the Council for not providing dog bins all along the Bollin?
you do seem to be a confused person; I had hoped to see an end to this particular topic, but needs must when the deluded call !
1. Of course no one approves of poo bags on trees. My point (was I too subtle?) was that if the dog owners scoop up the poo, they do care about the environment and that if the particular authority provided bins, the dog owners would put the poo bags into them.
2. In the park that is what happens. The bins are emptied twice a week (of both ordinary litter and poo bags) and everything is fine. I simply can't see why the possible cost of emptying a few bins is truly too costly (a red herring?).
3. In your post of March 17th you neem to suggest that your brother did not volunteer to clean my dog muck. Eh what?
4. Why shouldn't there be dog bins along the Bollin? There are ordinary bins in the Carrs (is that what you mean by along the Bollin?) which are filled with 'ordinary' rubbish and which get emptied regularly, without any 'it costs too much'.
5. Cheshire East has a statutory duty to clean up, including dog waste (see article above) and surely providing bins would only be a help to them?
6. Can you not accept Fionas's well-put point (see above) that a trial period of providing bins would be useful.
7. Back in the old days,I thought there were not enough bins in the park,I requested more and the good folk of 'ansa' duely obliged. If I could, so can others?
8. The N.T. is a multi-million pound body. Can it truly not afford to provide and occasionally empty a few bins?
Enough is enough; I suspect that you and I are becoming boring on this matter.
I am a dog person and you are not a dog person.
And 'never the twain shall meet' ?
We covered the A34 towards the Merlin, down Heyes Lane, Oakfield Road, Beech Road and the Park at Beech Road, and around the Festival Hall, London Road and on the Park, along the pathway from the Park to the Sports Field and around the Sports Field.
We found lots of bottles, cans, plastic bags and coffee cups but throughout the whole of this route we only found one doggy poo bag and this was on the Beech Road Park. We didn't see any doggy poo at all.
We have found when doing our regular weekly litter pick that there is very little dog fouling on the routes we take.