Shropshire Council agrees new powers to help tackle dog mess

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet has agreed to introduce a ‘public spaces protection order’ (PSPO) from June to help tackle dog fouling and nuisance.

It follows an eight-week public consultation into the proposals held late last year, that received a largely positive response – and that led to small number of amendments being made to the original proposals.

The PSPO will enable Shropshire Council and the police to issue fixed penalty notices of £100 – or £50 if paid within 10 days – to owners who allow their animals to foul pavements and public amenity spaces without clearing up afterwards.

Under the PSPO, dogs will also be excluded from fenced play and sports areas and will be required to wear a lead on the public highway. Officers will also have the power to ask for a dog to be put on a lead in public areas where they aren’t under the control of their owner or are acting aggressively.

The PSPO will be implemented with a public education and information exercise, adequate bin provision and signage for enclosed exclusion zones so that any enforcement action taken is both ‘reasonable and proportionate’.

Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said:

“Following an increasing number of complaints to the council about dog fouling, and concerns that we are not taking sufficient enforcement action it was agreed that the council’s legislative powers be reviewed, and measures implemented to enable enforcement for the control of dogs and for addressing dog fouling.

"A PSPO is the best way to do this, but it was important to seek people’s views before anything was agreed or implemented and I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation into our original proposals.

“As enforcement on its own will be insufficient to secure a change in behaviour and attitudes, we’re planning to run a proactive public information campaign at the same time.”

The consultation into the proposed PSPO ran from 27 October to 21 December 2023, with 561 responses received. Some 63% of respondents were in support of the proposals.

The PSPO will come into effect on 1 June 2024.