A new borough-wide order giving Lewisham Council extra powers to take action against irresponsible dog owners has been approved.
New legislation, under Section 55 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005) means that action and enforcement against people who do not comply with new rules can be taken. The new Dog Control Order was approved by the Mayor and Cabinet on 28 January.
Lewisham Council wants anyone who owns a dog to behave in a responsible manner, and the vast majority of people do. There are, however, a small number of people who do sometimes act irresponsibly. These are the people the Council will now be able to take action against, if they break the new regulations.
A new on-the-spot fine will come into effect from 6 April 2009 for anyone not complying with the new regulations, which will apply across the borough.
Lesley Seary, Executive Director for Customer Services, said: “The public has a right to walk around Lewisham without being afraid of uncontrolled dogs, or of stepping in dog faeces.
“The adoption of the borough-wide order will enable us to take action against people who act irresponsibly by not controlling their dogs, or by allowing them to foul our footpaths and green spaces."
The adoption of a borough-wide Dog Control Order means that an on-the-spot Fixed Penalty Notice of £75 will be issued if people with dogs:
- fail to remove their dog’s faeces from a public place
- do not keep their dog on a lead in a designated area such as a park or open space - these will be sign-posted in public areas
- do not put, or keep their dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer
- permit their dog to enter land to which dogs are excluded - these will be sign-posted
- take more than four dogs onto land at any one time
Lewisham Council was keen to seek the views from members of the public on this key issue and conducted a consultation exercise in autumn 2008. The Council received 751 responses plus an additional 42 additional letters and emails. A further 288 comments and concerns were included on completed questionnaires.
Some responses from the consultation include:
- Failure to remove dog faeces
Of the 750 people who responded to the question, 99.73 per cent agreed with the use of a fine for failure to comply with this order.
- Not keeping a dog on a lead
Of the 749 who responded to this question, 97.86 per cent of people agreed with the proposal to fine for this offence. Over 60 per cent of those felt that dogs should be kept on a lead in cemeteries and crematoriums.
- Not putting or keeping a dog on a lead when directed by an authorised officer
72 per cent of people who responded felt that dogs should be excluded from children’s play areas and 71 per cent felt that they should be excluded from fenced sports areas within parks.
- Taking more than a specified number of dogs onto land
Of the 745 responses to this question, more than half felt the proposed maximum number of six was too many. As a result, this offence has been reduced to a maximum of four dogs.
Lewisham Council will be working with partners, such as the Safer Neighbourhood Teams and wardens, providing training and support. A number of partners and Council Officers will be able to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to anyone not complying with the Order.
Officers from the Council will shortly be visiting wards around the borough holding a series of awareness-raising events, talking to residents about the changes.