Agenda item

Report attached.

In accordance with Regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, approval had been given by Councillor Jodi Clements, Chair of the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to the following decision being made by Cabinet on 4^th  December 2024, under the special urgency provisions for key decisions, on the grounds that the decision was urgent and could not reasonably be deferred.

 

 

Members considered joint report of Councillor Stewart Eaves, Portfolio Holder forEnvironmental Services and Councillor Kimberley Whitehead, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Arts, requesting Cabinet to consider extending and varying a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) called the Borough Council of Hyndburn (Control of Dogs) Public Spaces Protection Order (Number 1 of 2021) pursuant to sections 60 and 61 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (“The Act”) relating to dog control within the Borough of Hyndburn.

 

Councillor Eaves provided a brief introduction to the report.  He referred to an additional recommendation which was being proposed in the light of responses provided in the comments section of the PSPO consultation and discussions with the Friends of Memorial Park, Great Harwood.  Mr Welsby, Chief Executive, clarified that the new recommendation was in addition to those already set out in the report.

 

Councillor Dad commented that he had previously had some concerns about dogs in cemeteries, in the light of complaints he had received 3 or 4 years ago from the families of the deceased.  However, while attending a burial at Burnley Road Cemetery in Accrington, at the weekend he had observed around 10 dog owners, all of whom had their pets on a lead.  He had been reassured that, in general, owners who exercised their dogs in cemeteries were responsible and that there was no issue with dogs being in cemeteries per se.  Irresponsible owners could be dealt with via the PSPO and enforcement.

 

Approval of the report was deemed a key decision.

 

Reasons for Decision

 

Legislation relating to Dog Control changed in 2014 with the introduction of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The Act had superseded The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 in relation to dog control.

 

The Act required local authorities to use PSPOs instead of dog control orders.  To make a PSPO a local authority had to be satisfied that activities carried on in a public place had or were likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality (s 59 (2) of the Act) and that those activities were unreasonable, likely to persist or continue and justified the making of the PSPO.

 

Section 60 (2) of the Act permitted local authorities to extend the period during which an existing PSPO had effect if it was satisfied on reasonable grounds that the restrictions in that PSPO were still required.

 

PSPOs were live for a maximum of three years and at that point could be extended and varied if necessary, for them to remain in force.

 

Officers had taken the view that the statutory conditions were met because:

 

(i)       There were ongoing concerns about dog fouling in the Borough;

(ii)      There had been issues for users of play facilities and bowling greens with dogs running around disrupting their activities, jumping up at people and fouling in these areas;

(iii)     There were issues with dogs off leads running in townships causing disruption for shoppers and dogs running into the highway;

(iv)     There were ongoing concerns about dogs not on leads being able to run onto graves and foul in the Borough’s cemeteries;

(v)      There were ongoing concerns about dogs off leads fouling, disrupting users and attacking other dogs at Churchfield House in Great Harwood;

(vi)     There were ongoing concerns about dogs off leads fouling on grass sports pitches where children and adults played football and rugby; and

(vii)    There were ongoing concerns about dogs off leads fouling and disrupting users in the rose garden at Haworth Park during weddings and art events

 

In addition to the concerns at (i) - (vii) above, officers had taken the view that the statutory conditions were met because, since the current PSPO had been enacted in December 2021 and the current restrictions were put in place, the dog warden had still had to issue 28 Fixed Penalty Notices for breaching PSPO conditions, in addition to a number of informal warnings and educational conversations with dog owners while out on patrol.  Also, the dog warden routinely received and investigated general complaints from members of the public about issues such as dog fouling and anti-social dog behaviour.  As such, officers took the view that the issues outlined ay (i) – (vii) above were continuing and persistent.

 

A consultation exercise had been undertaken during October of 2024.  Key stakeholders such as the Police & Crime Commissioner Office, Dogs Trust, Kennel Club and user groups such as Sports Leagues & local ‘Friends Of’ groups had been informed of the consultation to ensure those most invested had a chance to comment.  A summary of the results were in the table below:

 

Consultation Question	In Favour	Against
Exclude dogs from Council Play Facilities	89.47%	10.53%
Exclude dogs from Council bowling greens	88.30%	11.70%
That dog owners or those in charge of a dog clear up after the dog fouls	100%	0%
Dogs are kept on leads in Borough townships	91.49%	8.51%
Dogs are kept on leads in the Boroughs cemeteries	94.38%	5.62%
Dogs are kept on leads on designated sports pitches	71.74%	28.26%
Dogs are kept on leads within the grounds of Churchfield House in Great Harwood	90%	10%
Dogs are kept on leads within the rose garden at Haworth Park	82.42%	17.58%

 

As part of the consultation an online survey was available for Borough residents to indicate which of the proposals for inclusion within the PSPO they were for or against.  A total of 95 responses had been received via the online survey.  The results were provided at Appendix 2 of the report.

 

Within the consultation document there had been a space available in the online survey for anyone wishing to make a specific point or comment about the proposals.  A total of 104 responses had been received via the online survey.  Copies of those responses were set out in Appendix 3 of the report.

 

While the PSPO restricted how dog walkers could exercise their dogs in specified areas, the Borough’s eleven major parks and many other open spaces throughout Hyndburn were available for dog walkers to exercise their dogs without restrictions.

 

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

 

Do not extend and vary the Borough Council of Hyndburn (Control of Dogs) Public Spaces Protection Order (Number 1 of 2021) relating to dog control in Hyndburn pursuant to Section 60 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.  This had been rejected as evidence and experience had shown that practical measures, like a PSPO, helped to balance the needs of dog owners with the wider use of public spaces.

 

Resolved                                 (1)   That Cabinet agrees to extend and vary the Borough Council of Hyndburn (Control of Dogs) Public Spaces Protection Order (Number 1 of 2021) having taken into consideration the outcome of the consultation exercise.

 

(2)   That Cabinet agrees to extend and vary the Borough Council of Hyndburn (Control of Dogs) Public Spaces Protection Order (Number 1 of 2021) being satisfied that the conditions in sections 59 (2-3) and 60 (2) of the Act have been met.  Those conditions being:

           

(i)        Activities carried on in a public place within the authority’s area have had a detrimental effect on the quality of those in the locality;

(ii)       It is likely that activities will be carried on in a public place within that area and they will have such an effect;

(iii)      It is or is likely to be persistent or of a continuing nature;

(iv)      It is or is likely to be such as to make the activities unreasonable;

(v)       It justifies the restrictions imposed; and

(vi)      It is necessary to prevent the occurrence or recurrence of the activities identified in the order, or an increase in the frequency or seriousness of those activities

 

(3)   That Cabinet agrees to extend and vary the Borough Council of Hyndburn (Control of Dogs) Public Spaces Protection Order (Number 1 of 2021) which imposes the following requirements (for a detailed list of sites refer to Appendix 1):

 

(i)        The exclusion of dogs from Council owned children’s play facilities;

(ii)       The exclusion of dogs from designated Council owned bowling greens;

(iii)      The requirement that the owner or person in charge of a dog has to clear up after their dog if the dog fouls on any open land in the Borough to which the dog has access;

(iv)      The requirement for dogs to be kept on leads within Hyndburn’s main townships;

(v)       The requirement for dogs to be kept on leads in the Borough’s cemeteries;

(vi)      The requirement for dogs to be kept on leads on Council owned sports pitches;

(vii)    The requirement for dogs to be kept on leads within the grounds of Churchfield House in Great Harwood; and

(viii)   The requirement for dogs to be kept on leads within the rose garden in Haworth Park.

 

(4)   The variations proposed for Borough Council of Hyndburn (Control of Dogs) Public Spaces Protection Order (Number 1 of 2021) are:

 

(i)        Adding the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on Bolton Avenue in Huncoat;

(ii)       Adding the new playground and MUGA at Knuzden Recreation ground;

(iii)      Removing the open space at Brookside View in Oswaldtwistle as it is no longer a formal play facility

(iv)      Removing the bottom plateau at Bullough Park playing fields from the PSPO as this is no longer used for formal sports;

(v)       Reducing the area on the bottom plateau at Memorial Park playing fields to exclude the area not used as football pitches from the PSPO; and

(vi)      Reconfiguring the area at Wilson Playing Fields used for sports pitches to take into account the construction of the new leisure centre.

 

(For details of the variations please refer to the draft PSPO in Appendix 4 and associated plans in Appendix 5)

 

(5)   That Cabinet agrees that the level of any Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) issued for contravening a PSPO will be £80 with no discount and delegates authority to the Executive Director (Environment) to amend the level of FPN in the future in consultation with the relevant portfolio holder and the Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services).

 

(6)   Further to the responses provided in the comments section of the PSPO consultation and discussions with the Friends of Memorial Park, that Cabinet requests officers to undertake a further consultation in the New Year to decide whether a PSPO should be made to require dog owners to have dogs on leads in the formal part of Memorial Park, in Great Harwood.