Dog-walking rules make a return in South Ribble
A raft of rules for dog owners in South Ribble are to be reintroduced after they were accidentally allowed to lapse.
The regulations - which govern where canine companions can be walked, where they must be kept on a lead and what action must be taken to clean up after them - were first instated back in 2017.
As public space protection orders (PSPOs), they can run for only three years before they have to be renewed by the authority responsible for them. South Ribble Borough Council undertook that process in 2020, but failed to repeat it in 2023 - meaning the rules have not been enforceable since November last year.
Cabinet members have now agreed to put the orders back in place, following a public consultation which took place over the summer. There has been no change to the regulations since they were last in operation and their reintroduction will “ensure that the law-abiding majority can use and enjoy public spaces, safe from antisocial behaviour”, a council report said.
Kath Unsworth, cabinet member for environment and streetscene, told the meeting at which the decision was made that the orders “balance the needs of dog owners with those of other members [of] the community…[and] assist the council’s zero-tolerance approach to dog-related issues”.
Under the rules, dogs will once again be banned from all council-owned play areas, multi-use games areas and ball courts, bowling greens - except the perimeter of the facilities - skate parks, BMX tracks and sports pitches when they are in use for an organised activity. Canines must also not be allowed to stray from the footpaths and highways within cemeteries and crematorium grounds.
Dogs will have to be kept on a lead on all roads and footpaths, on land used by businesses for eating and drinking and in sporting, recreational and educational areas when planned activities are taking place.
They will also have to be put on a leash in Longton Brickcroft Nature Reserve, the access land to Longton Marsh, Hurst Grange Coach House and within Worden Park’s formal gardens, maze, walled garden, fish pond boardwalk and arts and craft centre courtyard.
Meanwhile, anyone in control of a dog in a public place must remove any faeces the animal deposits and must have with them “a device for or other suitable means of” picking it up - which they can produce on request by a council officer - and taking it to a bin.
As with all of the PSPOs, fixed penalty notices of £100 can be issued for failure to comply, but the authority has issued only two fines for dog fouling in the past five years, instead preferring to ensure dog walkers are “encouraged and…provided with additional bags” to address the issue.
The fouling regulations do not apply to a person who is registered blind, nor to anyone relying on an assistance dog or those with certain physical disabilities.