Ribble Valley Residents Back Renewal Of Dog Controls In Public

Ribble Valley Borough Council introduced a public spaces protection order, or PSPO, in 2017 to tackle the scourge of dog poop in public and make the borough cleaner, safer and healthier.

The three-year order was renewed in 2020 after public backing and the majority of respondents in a consultation have now asked for it to be extended again.

Members of Ribble Valley Borough Council’s health and housing committee heard that the PSPO had helped to reduce dog-fouling from 125 to 68 complaints a year.

But dog-fouling was still one of the council’s most complained about issues and there was overwhelming public support for the continuation of the order, committee heard.

Andrew Dent, Ribble Valley Borough Council’s head of environmental health, said: “The main purpose of the PSPO is to strike a balance between the needs of people using sports grounds for recreation and leisure and those, including dog walkers, who use them as public open space.

“The PSPO allows us to make people’s lives safer and healthier, and protect and enhance the environmental quality of the borough – two of our key priorities – by putting controls on dogs, particularly fouling.

“Our consultation showed clear support, including from many dog owners, for the continuation of the order.”

Stuart Hirst, chairman of the Ribble Valley Borough Council’s health and housing committee, added: “Public open spaces play an important role in the health and wellbeing of our residents and visitors.

“We want everyone to enjoy themselves in public spaces and this means restricting where dogs can go and when they should be kept on leads.

“The council adopted an order in 2017, after receiving hundreds of complaints about dog fouling each year and spending thousands of pounds disposing of it.

“The order has enabled us to keep the borough clean, safe and healthy, as well as tackle dog fouling and nuisance dog behaviour, and has received widespread public support.”

The PSPO makes it an offence to:

• Fail to pick up your dog poop in a public place
• Not be in possession of pet poop bags
• Let your dog off its lead in Clitheroe Cemetery
• Allow your dog to enter a playground or sports pitch
• Refuse to put your dog on a lead if asked by a dog warden
• Be in charge of more than four dogs at once

Anyone breaching the order faces a £100 fixed penalty notice or day in court and fine of up to £1,000.

The order does not apply to people with sight or hearing loss, or anyone requiring a trained assistance dog.