Frome Town Council is inviting local people to take part in a survey on the possibility of introducing Dog Control Orders (DCOs) on land that FTC owns or manages. DCOs are used to make sure dog owners are considerate of others. In the extreme the Police can prosecute dog owners who do not pick up their dog’s poo or have a dog that is out of control, for example. This likely to be a sensitive issue and DCOs are only one of many measures being explored by FTC to ‘make sure dog owners and the rest of the community remain friends’.  The closing date for responses is 30^th April.  Please see http://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/news/view/dog-control-orders-what-do-you-think-frome-town-co

Official guidance on what DCOs can achieve is found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dog-control-orders.

The Dog Control Orders (Prescribed Offences and Penalties, etc.) Regulations provide for five offences which may be prescribed in a dog control order:

(a) failing to remove dog faeces;

(b) not keeping a dog on a lead;

(c) not putting, and keeping, a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer;

(d) permitting a dog to enter land from which dogs are excluded;

(e) taking more than a specified number of dogs onto land.

The penalty for committing an offence contained in a Dog Control Order is a maximum fine of £1,000. Alternatively, the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty may be offered in place of prosecution.

If this is acceptable to the community, FTC could propose to introduce DCOs on land under its control or management, including Victoria Park and Mary Bailey Playing Field, Welshmill park, Murrhardt Gardens, Château Gontier Walk, Zion Path, Rodden Meadow, and Weylands, and now the Dippy and North Parade woodlands. No decision on whether DCOs are applied, and which level of DCO will apply to which areas, has yet been made, as this will be influenced by the responses from the community.

Other public open spaces in Frome that are not owned or managed by Frome Town Council would  be unaffected, such as the Brunel Way open space, Packsaddle park, Egford Lane playground, and the old Showfield (although it is possible FTC will take over in future). Mendip DC do not have any Dog Control Orders at present, but do you think they should?

Please do respond to the consultation, it will only take a minute, and let me know what you think.