Agenda item

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regulatory Services to submit a report which seeks approval to go out to formal consultation on the making of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) relating to dogs and aspects of anti-social behaviour (following initial consultation with the Police) in accordance with the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the Act)

 

 

 

Consultation on the draft Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) be undertaken between 1 July 2019 and 30 August 2019.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regulatory Services

 

(a)   submitted a report, which sought approval to go to formal consultation on the making of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), relating to dogs and aspects of anti-social behaviour (following initial consultation with the Police) in accordance with the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the Act);

 

(b)   advised that the report linked with the Council’s Corporate Priorities, namely ‘achieving a clean and attractive local environment’.  It was proposed that a formal consultation on the draft PSPO be held.  The draft PSPO covered dog fouling and antisocial behaviour, both of which continued within certain areas of the Borough.  The existing Dog Control Order had limitations and was being repealed in September.  Despite the Council having no formal statistics on dog fouling, this was an obvious problem for the Borough and action needed to be taken.  The draft PSPO had greater scope and more control over enforcement and prosecution.  It would assist the Council’s Enforcement Officer in dealing effectively with issues such as dog fouling;

 

(c)    advised that pending Member approval, the Council was ready to go to consultation, as detailed at paragraph 7.1 of the report.

 

(d)   highlighted that the decision before Members at this meeting was not a key decision.  However, following the consultation, any subsequent policy would be a key decision.

 

(e)   commented that fixed penalty notices for dog fouling had been a £75 statutory fine for a number of years and suggested raising these to £100.

 

A Member noted the active social media campaign on dog fouling in 2017.  The Council now had a dedicated Enforcement Officer in post and were proposing a consultation process to enable such issues to be dealt with more effectively.

 

A Member noted that the current Dog Control Order was Borough wide.  Would the PSPO be Borough wide too?

 

The Director for Law and Governance advised that the Council had the power to define the area included in any PSPO.  Possible areas for inclusion were defined on the plans before Members.

 

The Environmental Services Manager advised that there were exemptions which would not be covered in the PSPO, such as agricultural and private land.

 

The Member warned against raising the fixed penalty notice from £75, as those issued with fines did not pay and the Council already spent time and money trying to recover these fines.  Why increase them when they do not get paid.

The Environmental Services Manager highlighted that at this stage, the Council sought Members’ approval to go to consultation.  Any decision on raising the sum of fixed penalty notices would be sought following consultation.

 

The Chief Executive advised that enforcement was only one option given to the Enforcement Officer, who would decide the most appropriate action to take.

 

The Environmental Services Manager confirmed that since the Enforcement Officer had been in post, every fixed penalty notice had been paid except one, which was going to court.

 

A Member commented that they completely supported the proposals and raising the fixed penalty notice.  There was plenty of evidence if not statistics to support the need for a PSPO.  They queried if the PSPO would be applied to the parishes or mainly the town.

 

The Environmental Services Manager confirmed that the intention was to use the PSPO wherever necessary, based on complaints.  The consultation would help the Council to identify whether Parishes wanted the PSPO to extend to children’s play areas for example.

 

A Member cautioned that dog walkers needed some freedom to walk their dogs.  If the Council did not enable this freedom, dog walkers would congregate in certain areas.  Consideration should be given to identify appropriate areas for dog walkers and ensure dog fouling bins were in place there.

 

Another Member highlighted that a PSPO covered dog walkers’ lack of provision to deal with the disposal of dog fouling (no dog fouling bags) and the Environmental Services Manager added that the Council was not responsible for the provision of the bags.  Dog walkers had to source these themselves.

 

There being no further comments or questions from Members, Councillor Illingworth moved the recommendation and Councillor Orson seconded.  Members voted unanimously in favour.

 

DECISION (NON-KEY)

 

Consultation on the draft Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) be undertaken between 1 July 2019 and 30 August 2019.

 

Reasons:-

 

The Council understand well how anti-social behaviour can blight the lives of people in its local communities. The Council recognises that it has a key role to play in helping make local areas safe places to live, visit and work and tackling anti-social behaviour continues to be a high priority for the Council and its partners.

The Council has approved corporate priorities as part of its Corporate Delivery Plan 2018-2020. One of the corporate priorities is ‘achieving a clean and attractive local environment’. It was identified within the Corporate Delivery Plan that one way of meeting this priority is to undertake additional environmental enforcement, so we can more proactively tackle issues like litter, dog fouling and fly-tipping as we work to improve the quality and attractiveness of the Borough of Melton.

 

Another corporate priority is to ‘work with our partners to address vulnerability and tackle the root causes of social problems, building safe, happy and healthy communities.’

 

The Council receives complaints about dog fouling on a regular basis. The introduction of a PSPO would be a proactive way of ensuring that we try and stop dog fouling and have the ability to take enforcement action against those persons who do not pick up after their dog/s.

 

The PSPO process will assist in supporting both of these priorities. The overall aim of introducing a PSPO is to:

•        create a clearer, simpler system thereby making it easier for the public to understand,

•        provide a more comprehensive and consistent approach to the control of dogs in the district,

•        increase the penalties for those committing offences,

•        balance the needs of dog owners and other members of the community.

 

A period of public consultation ensures the views of those affected are taken into account.