Public Space Protection Order
There has been much conversation and speculation over the last week regarding Fylde Council’s proposal to consider Public Space Protection Order in regards to dog control in the Fylde.
A working group of elected members have recently considered the introduction of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) for dog control and other potential sources of anti-social behaviour, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. On Tuesday 15 November the Operational Management Committee considered a number of recommendations proposed by the working group which include:
- a borough wide PSPO requiring dogs to be kept on leads on all public highways at all times
- a borough wide PSPO requiring the removal of dog faeces at all times
- a borough wide PSPO excluding dogs from all children’s play areas
- a borough wide PSPO limiting the number of dogs under the control of one person to a maximum of 4
- a PSPO requiring dogs to be kept on leads at various locations across the borough and
- a PSPO excluding dogs at various locations across the borough
The PSPOs differ from the existing dogs on leads/dog exclusion bye-laws as they will allow for the issuing of a fixed penalty notice (FPN) to the value of £100, for breaching a PSPO, reduced to £50 if paid within 7 days.
The proposals include the replacement of the current legislation used enabling more effective enforcement, for a number of pre-existing restrictions, for example dogs on leads in Ashton Gardens. Feedback is also sought on the proposal to introduce a few new restrictions, such as excluding dogs from Children’s Play Areas, which cannot currently be enforced. In addition, there are proposals to reduce the level of the existing restriction on Lytham Green and remove the restrictions completely in some areas, including the land between South Promenade Car Park and the sand dunes from Denford Avenue and Fairhaven Lake.
The Committee instructed officers to undertake a 6 week public consultation as required by the legislation. The consultation will be launched in the coming weeks and will be widely advertised when available. Please use the official consultation to express your views on the proposed PSPO and provide feedback. The results of the consultation will then be reported back to the Operational Management Committee.
No decisions have been made yet and we are keen for people to get involved by completing the consultation which will be launched shortly. Whilst the consultation is pending, the report on Public Space Protection Orders can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/fyldedogcontrol
Please note that any comments submitted at this point will not be considered as part of the consultation, therefore we advise everyone to monitor our website and social media pages where the link to the consultation will be published once it goes live.
Sarah Wilson, Waste Operations Manager for Fylde Council said “We appreciate there are a lot of passionate views regarding this subject. The consultation will be released as soon as possible and we are asking residents to be patient whilst this is finalised and once it is released, use this method to ensure their opinions and feedback are captured”.
Cllr David Eaves Chairman of the Operational Management Committee said: “Fylde Council is the only district council on the Fylde coast that does not have Public Space Protection Orders. Various issues have been brought to Members’ attention regarding comments on dog control. A cross party working group was set up for Councillors to consider, and a comprehensive consultation will take place in the very near future lasting for 6 weeks. All members of the public are invited to voice their comments and opinions within the consultation, and these will all be take into consideration once the consultation period is live. A full report will then be presented to Operational Management Committee before going to full council.”