Have your say on public space dog controls

Ribble Valley Borough Council is calling on the public to have their say on whether controls on dogs in public spaces should be continued in Ribble Valley.

The current public spaces protection order, which is set to expire in October 2026, was introduced in 2017 to tackle the scourge of dog poop in public and make the borough cleaner, safer and healthier.

Now, the council wants to hear the views of residents, including dog owners, on whether it should be extended for another three years.

And an online survey is in place until Sunday, July 19th to give residents and dog owners the chance to voice their views.

The PSPO makes it an offence to:

• Fail to pick up your dog poop in a public place
• Not be in possession of pet poop bags
• Let your dog off its lead in Clitheroe Cemetery
• Allow your dog to enter a playground or sports pitch
• Refuse to put your dog on a lead if asked by a dog warden
• Be in charge of more than four dogs at once

And anyone breaching the order faces a £100 fixed penalty notice or day in court and fine of up to £1,000.

Mark Hindle, chairman of the Ribble Valley Borough Council’s health and housing committee, said: “Public open spaces play an important role in the health and wellbeing of our residents and visitors.

“We want everyone to enjoy themselves in public spaces and this means restricting where dogs can go and when they should be kept on leads.

“The council adopted an order in 2017, after receiving hundreds of complaints about dog fouling each year and spending thousands of pounds disposing of it.

“Without the order, we would not be able to keep the borough clean, safe and healthy, tackle dog fouling and nuisance dog behaviour, or enforce the restrictions, so we want to hear from people on whether they want it to continue.

“We have had a good response to the survey so far, but there is still time for more residents, visitors and particularly dog owners to have their say on this important matter.”