Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Health introduced the report and stated that a new PSPO was necessary to replace the current dog control orders. It would include measures against those who failed to pick up dog faeces, those who failed to keep dogs on leads and exclude dogs from certain areas. The PSPO would also prohibit owners from walking more than 4 dogs in the town centre unless they had been licenced or were registered with the Council as a professional dog walker on its voluntary scheme.

The Committee agreed that an updated PSPO would be necessary but expressed concern over the measure to limit the number of dogs walked in the town centre by a professional dog walker, as the report outlined that there was no definition of a ‘professional dog walker’, and that Trinity Park and Whatman Park had been excluded from the PSPO. It was suggested that the Council’s voluntary scheme for dog walkers could become permanent and the wording on Section 7c of the PSPO could be changed to include the voluntary scheme for a person qualified as a professional dog walker.

In response to concerns, the Head of Housing and Regulatory Services undertook to inform Committee members of the reasoning after the meeting. It was stated that there was no definition of “professional dog walker” in law and that the Council could not make the voluntary scheme mandatory without passing a by-law. However the Head of Housing and Regulatory Services confirmed they would explore if wording on Section 7c of the PSPO could be changed to include the voluntary scheme as a qualification for dog walkers.

To provide clarity to the Committee, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Health stated that they and the Head of Housing and Regulatory Services would inform the Committee of any further information on the park exclusions and definition of professional dog walkers.

RESOLVED:  Subject to the Cabinet Member for Housing and Health receiving satisfactory clarification on the exclusion of certain parks in the order and any additional wording on professional dog walkers for paragraph 7c, they ask the Head of Housing and Regulatory Services to make a new Public Spaces Protection Order as set out in Appendix 4 of the report.