Dog Control Measures - Mid Sussex District Council

24/07/08 Dog Control Measures - Mid Sussex District Council

Mid Sussex District Council will consider introducing new dog control measures in the District tomorrow.

The majority of dog owners in Mid Sussex are responsible, pick up their dogs' mess and keep them under proper control. However, there is a small minority who don't and this can create problems that residents have identified as a high priority.

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, local authorities have more power to protect the local environment, which can include warnings and fines for those who don't comply with legislation. The Council undertook an extensive consultation with the public to find out how they would like to see these new powers used in Mid Sussex.

Council officers took on board residents' feedback when deciding which dog control orders should be recommended for implementation.

The recommendations are as follows: -

Fouling of land by dogs order

In order to reduce the amount of dog fouling in Mid Sussex, owners are required to clean up their dogs' mess. This order is to be applied to all District Council owned or managed recreational and other public land, car parks and all highway areas within a 40mph speed restriction.

Dog exclusion

To prevent people or the dogs themselves being injured as a result of sharing activity space, dogs should be excluded from all fenced children's play areas and fenced recreational areas such as tennis courts, bowling greens and multi activity areas owned by Mid Sussex District Council.

Dogs on a lead when requested

In order to stop a loose dog disrupting sporting or community events or disturbing local wildlife, dogs must be placed on a lead if requested to do so by a Council officer. This order will apply to land on which formal sports and community events regularly take place, and all designated conservation sites and local nature reserves.

Maximum number of dogs (6)

The number of dogs one person can take onto Council land should be restricted to six. It is proposed that this order is introduced as a pilot, and applied to Bedelands Farm nature reserve and Leylands Park tip site. This area has been associated with problems in the past and will serve as a case study to measure the effectiveness of the new dog control order.

"Striking a balance between the needs of dog owners and general users of shared open space is always going to be difficult," said Councillor Garry Wall, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Outdoor Services. "Officers have taken the time to listen to the views of local people and have produced what I feel is a common sense approach to the issue of dog control."

A formal decision as to which dog control orders are introduced and where they will applied will be taken by Full Council on Wednesday 23 July, from 7pm in the Council Chamber.

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