Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) - Dog Control 2021

Posted on:

The Dog Control Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) has been agreed by the Elected Members of Sefton Council following extensive public consultation. It was approved at a full Council meeting.

PSPOs are powers that are available to local authorities to deal with anti-social behaviour and to ensure that communities are great places for everybody to live.

The PSPO for Dog Control aims to help dog owners behave responsibly in areas that are enjoyed by many other user groups. It outlines requirements and restrictions to encourage responsible dog ownership and to ensure that shared spaces are usable and accessible for all of Sefton’s residents.

A PSPO is an official measure that is an enforceable part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. PSPOs can be used to protect the public from behaviour that is having or is likely to have a harmful effect on the quality of life of those in the locality and is persistent and unreasonable or is likely to be.

This Dog Control Order is in place for up to three years until July 2024. 

The following requirements / restrictions summarised below are included within the Order:

  • Failure to remove your dog’s fouling forthwith. 
  • Restrict the number of dogs that can be walked by one person to a maximum of 6 dogs on or off the lead. 
  • Prohibit dogs from entering enclosed playgrounds and fenced sports pitches, including multi use game sport facilities.
  • Prohibit dogs from entering marked sports pitches during specified times. 
  • Dogs to be kept on a lead within defined picnic sites and family areas in parks. 
  • Dogs to be kept on a lead within all designated carriageways (A and B classified Road) and footways. 
  • Dogs to be kept on a lead within all cemeteries and crematoria. 
  • Dogs to be placed on a lead when directed by an authorised officer to prevent a nuisance or behaviour by the dog likely to cause annoyance or disturbance to members of the public. 
  • Dog leads must be no greater than 2 metres in length when used in the locations specified above. 

A £75 fixed penalty notice (£50 if paid within 10 days) will be issued if you fail to comply with the requirement / restrictions within the Order.

Appeals

It is not possible to formally appeal against a fixed penalty notice issued for PSPO dog control offences.

However, if you wish to make representations about the fixed penalty notice that has been issued by the Council's contractor (NSL Ltd) then in the first instance you should make contact via email to [email protected] or in writing to Parking Services, PO Box 225, Bootle, L20 3WD. 

Public Consultation 2020

Sefton Council introduced a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for Dog Control in July 2017, an official measure that is an enforceable part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. 

Under this legislation PSPOs remain in place for 3 years at which point they can be extended, amended or discharged. 

The PSPO 2017 ended in July 2020 but details of what it required can be found in the download list at the bottom of this page. 

Sefton Council proposed to reintroduce the dog control requirements that were in place. As part of this process a public consultation was held to gather the thoughts of residents. 

The consultation period was started on 17th March 2020 but was suspended on 1st April 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. The consultation recommenced on the 7th September and closed on the 5th October 2020.

Respondents were asked to share their ideas regarding the dog control PSPO so that their thoughts could be taken into consideration during the process of implementing the new PSPO. A full list of responses is available to download here.