Residents from across Burton on Trent are being encouraged to have their say on how the Council promotes responsible dog ownership and help create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for all.

As part of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, Dog Control Orders enable Local Authorities like East Staffordshire Borough Council to issue fines to anyone in charge of a dog for a range of offences. These include cleaning up dog mess from public land including pavements, roads, parks and open spaces.

East Staffordshire Borough Council is proposing to take on a number of these orders and is consulting with local residents, Parish councils and other community groups on the most suitable locations for the various orders available.

Under the new proposals a £75 fixed penalty notice could be issued if you;

• Fail to clean up after your dog(s)
• Let your dog(s) off the lead in designated areas
• Fail to put your dog(s) on a lead when instructed to do so by an authorised officer
• Permit a dog to enter areas from which dogs are excluded

The locations where these could be introduced are now subject to a public consultation which began this week and residents have 28 days to respond.

Land where orders can be introduced includes playgrounds, sports fields where organised sporting events take place on a regular basis, places where dogs could affect the enjoyment of others, for example park land used for picnics, or anywhere with a history of dogs spoiling the enjoyment of other users.

Councillor Bernard Peters Deputy Leader for Environment and Leisure said: “We want to ensure the environment is clean, safe and pleasant for everyone to use.
“Anyone who owns a dog must take responsibility for it and not allow their dog to enter a designated dog free zone for example, or leave its mess for someone else to clean up.
“Dog Control Orders will enable us to address these and other issues through the system of fixed penalty notices. They will make it much easier for the public to understand where dogs can and can’t be exercised and what conditions will apply.

“They are not intended to discriminate against the vast majority of responsible dog owners, and I hope responsible dog owners will work with us to eradicate and help educate those who have no regard for the mess and nuisance caused by dogs that become out of control. “We intend to take action against the few who have no regard for other people’s enjoyment of our public areas.”

Insp Jav Oomer from Burton Police said: ”Dog fouling has been a problem in East Staffordshire for quite a while. Certainly in the last 12 months I have been in post and it comes up time and time again in PACT (Partners and Communities Together) meetings.  ”Dog control orders give our PCSOs the power to issue fixed penalty notices which can only act as a deterrent to irresponsible dog owners. ‘This is another good example of the police and local authority listening to what local residents are saying and acting on it.”

Residents from across the borough are now being invited to have their say on the proposals for Dog Control Orders over the coming weeks. The Orders will bring together various by-laws and restrictions on dogs throughout the area, while safeguarding the rights of owners to exercise their dogs.

Full details of these proposed orders are available on the Council website at www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk, the Customer Service Centres in Burton and Uttoxeter and Shobnall Leisure Centre.

Feedback can be emailed to DogControlOrders@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk, or sent by post to East Staffordshire Borough Council, Dog Control Orders Consultation, Enforcement Team, Town Hall, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire DE14 2EB.

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