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New rules to reduce dog fouling approved

It will be an offence to be out with a dog in Plymouth without means to pick up after it from 20 October.

The rule, which is part of a new Public Space Protection Order, has been given the green light after resident feedback in a public consolation was in favour of the move.

Another change will see the Milehouse Park & Ride car park and green areas in front of the Life Centre, become a dogs on lead zone.

The new PSPO, which was consulted upon in July this year, is an update to the previous order designed to control dogs and prevent dog fouling. 

Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet member for Customer Focus and Community Safety, said: “The dog owners of Plymouth have spoken. Like us, they are fed up of the small minority of people who don’t pick up after their dog and they want something done about it.

“I always said that our proposals weren’t set in stone. We put together a list of options, and let residents have their say. 

“As promised, where the majority of residents have agreed with our proposals we’ve implemented them, but where the majority told us no thank you, we’ve left it.”

Overall there were nearly 1,500 responses to the three week consultation. Of the 1,454 people that responded, 81.3 per cent said that they owned a dog.  

The proposal for dog owners to carry means to pick up after their dog was met with 95.1 per cent approval.

Under the new rules, if a dog owner is approached by an officer, they may be asked if they have means to pick up after their dog. If they cannot produce such means, a fixed penalty notice can be issued. 

Meanwhile, the current Central Park dogs on lead zone, which covers the Meadow Cafe, Community Sports Hub and Play Space, will now extended to include Cottage Field, the adjacent grass outside of the Life Centre and also the Milehouse Park and Ride car park, after 55.3 per cent of responses were in favour.

Map of the new dogs on leads zone at Central Park

Another proposal, which saw a larger section of the park included in the dogs on leads zone, was discarded with 76.2 per cent objecting to its inclusion.

There will also be no changes to the rules which state that dogs must be on a leads on marked playing pitches. 

Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) are the legal framework that forbid fouling, regulate where dogs should be on leads and where they are not allowed to go at all, and empowers the Council to issue fixed penalty notices to people who do not follow the rules. 

It will be an updated on the existing order, which was introduced in 2017 and by law, must be reviewed every three years. 

Full results of the public consultation can be found here: www.plymouth.gov.uk/dogcontrolconsultation