The following motion has been submitted by Councillor Kshama Shore:
“This Council notes that in November 2017, Eastbourne Borough Council implemented Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) covering the seafront and a number of open spaces throughout the town.
These PSPOs grant authorised individuals to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £75 or fines of up to £1000 to dog owners who do not keep their dogs on leads in designated areas, or when asked to do so, to clear up after their dog or allow their dogs to enter certain prohibited areas.
This Council notes that these PSPOs have seen exceptionally little enforcement and are commonly ignored.
This Council instructs the Cabinet member for Community Spaces and officers to ensure there are dedicated enforcement patrols of these PSPOs going forward and requires the relevant officer to produce a report for Scrutiny Committee every 6 months detailing the location and number of patrols and any enforcement undertaken that have taken place in the preceding 6 months.
The Council also requests the Director of Service Delivery to make arrangements to extend each of these PSPOs beyond their current November 2023 expiry date, subject to statutory consultation requirements.”
Minutes:
Councillor Shore moved and Councillor Goodyear seconded the following motion, as set out on the agenda:
“This Council notes that in November 2017, Eastbourne Borough Council implemented Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) covering the seafront and a number of open spaces throughout the town.
These PSPOs grant authorised individuals to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £75 or fines of up to £1000 to dog owners who do not keep their dogs on leads in designated areas, or when asked to do so, to clear up after their dog or allow their dogs to enter certain prohibited areas.
This Council notes that these PSPOs have seen exceptionally little enforcement and are commonly ignored.
This Council instructs the Cabinet member for Community Spaces and officers to ensure there are dedicated enforcement patrols of these PSPOs going forward and requires the relevant officer to produce a report for Scrutiny Committee every 6 months detailing the location and number of patrols and any enforcement undertaken that have taken place in the preceding 6 months.
The Council also requests the Director of Service Delivery to make arrangements to extend each of these PSPOs beyond their current November 2023 expiry date, subject to statutory consultation requirements.”
Councillor Morris moved and Councillor Ballard seconded an amendment to the motion to add additional words shown in bold and delete the third and fourth recommendation. The new amended motion would read:
“This Council notes that in November 2017, Eastbourne Borough Council implemented Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) covering the seafront and a number of open spaces throughout the town.
These PSPOs grant authorised individuals to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £75 or fines of up to £1,000 to dog owners who do not keep their dogs on leads in designated areas, or when asked to do so, to clear up after their dog or allow their dogs to enter certain prohibited areas.
The Association of Public Service Excellence states that enforcement of PSPOs are part of a solution, but that it needs to be supported by a wider campaign of promoting responsible dog ownership, and reducing dog fouling.
In addition, according to Keep Britain Tidy the vast majority (around 9 out of 10) of people pick up after their dogs.
We note that Keep Britain Tidy wants to eradicate dog fouling by 2030.
We call on Eastbourne Borough Council:
· To support the campaign of Keep Britain Tidy to eradicate dog fouling by 2030.
· To develop a communications strategy to help educate residents and visitors on the importance of responsible dog ownership.
· To request the Director of Service Delivery to make arrangements to extend each of these PSPOs beyond their current November 2023 expiry date, subject to statutory consultation requirements.”
The Council then heard from the public speaker, Mr Veit, a new local resident on concerns on the presence of dog fouling on the beach, and the need for additional dog bins and better education and information.
The Council then debated the motion and the amendment together. As part of summing up, Councillor Shore indicated that she would be willing to incorporate into her motion the suggested additional recommendations in relation to the Keep Britain Tidy campaign but could not do without the additional paragraphs on additional enforcement patrols and regular reports back to the Scrutiny Committee. Consent to this change to Cllr Shore’s original motion was given by the Council, in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.
The amended motion as proposed by Councillor Morris was then put to a vote and carried unanimously.
RESOLVED (unanimously):
This Council notes that in November 2017, Eastbourne Borough Council implemented Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) covering the seafront and a number of open spaces throughout the town.
These PSPOs grant authorised individuals to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £75 or fines of up to £1,000 to dog owners who do not keep their dogs on leads in designated areas, or when asked to do so, to clear up after their dog or allow their dogs to enter certain prohibited areas.
The Association of Public Service Excellence states that enforcement of PSPOs are part of a solution, but that it needs to be supported by a wider campaign of promoting responsible dog ownership, and reducing dog fouling.
In addition, according to Keep Britain Tidy the vast majority (around 9 out of 10) of people pick up after their dogs.
We note that Keep Britain Tidy wants to eradicate dog fouling by 2030.
We call on Eastbourne Borough Council:
· To support the campaign of Keep Britain Tidy to eradicate dog fouling by 2030.
· To develop a communications strategy to help educate residents and visitors on the importance of responsible dog ownership.
· To request the Director of Service Delivery to make arrangements to extend each of these PSPOs beyond their current November 2023 expiry date, subject to statutory consultation requirements.