At its meeting on 14 March 2018 the Executive Committee considered the implementation of a Public Spaces Protection Order under S59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and the introduction of fixed penalty notice fines for all controls contained in the Order and it was RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:  

1.   That a Public Spaces Protection Order be implemented under S.59 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 as set out at Appendix A to the report.

2.   That Fixed Penalty Notice fines of £100 be introduced for all controls contained in the Public Spaces Protection Order.  

95.1           At its meeting on 14 March 2018, the Executive Committee had considered the implementation of a Public Spaces Protection Order under S.59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 as well as the introduction of Fixed Penalty Notice fines for all controls contained in the Order. The Executive Committee had recommended that a Public Spaces Protection Order be implemented under S.59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014; and that Fixed Penalty Notice fines of £100 be introduced for all controls contained in the Public Spaces Protection Order.

95.2           The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 17-26.

95.3           The recommendation from the Executive Committee was proposed by the Chair of the Committee and seconded by the Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment.

95.4           During the discussion which ensued, clarification was requested on whether dog fouling would be the subject of the Order when it took place in the countryside and, in response, the Head of Community Services confirmed that the Order would apply to all public open land in the Borough. Another Member questioned how this would work when it was a field with a public right of way across it and whether the Order would apply only to the path. The Head of Community Services indicated that he would have to investigate the issue and respond following the meeting. In terms of enforcement, and the training of staff, the Head of Community Services explained that a number of Officers were currently trained in issuing Fixed Penalty Notices and were already doing that for other offences. It was intended that this would be rolled out to other Officers who were not currently trained. In response to a query regarding safety, the Head of Community Services explained that Officers were able to carry out dynamic risk assessments before approaching members of the public to ensure it was safe to do so. There would be a number of different campaigns throughout the year - e.g. flytipping, litter, dog fouling - and the Council’s resources would be particularly focussed on those areas at that time; Officers would, of course, still be able to address other issues at those times should the need arise. Members of the public were also encouraged to report particular issues/culprits if they were aware of them.

95.5           One Member expressed particular concern about the number of complaints he received with regard to dog bins being full; he questioned how the Council could fine people for not clearing up after their dogs when often they had nowhere to put the waste. In response, a number of Members suggested that people should be encouraged to report bins that were full and they would then be emptied. In addition, it should be remembered that litter bins could also be used for dog waste. The Head of Community Services confirmed that there would be an educational campaign following the implementation of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95

To consider the implementation of a Public Spaces Protection Order under S59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and the introduction of fixed penalty notice fines for all controls contained in the Order.  

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1.      That a Public Spaces Protection Order be implemented under S.59 of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 as set out at Appendix A to the report.

2.      That Fixed Penalty Notice fines of £100 be introduced for all controls contained in the Public Spaces Protection Order.  

100.1         The report of the Environmental Health Manager, circulated at Pages No. 38-47, sought to replace the current enforcement activity carried out under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 with a Public Spaces Protection Order which provided authorised officers with more effective enforcement methods to deal with dog fouling. Members were asked to consider the implementation of the Public Spaces Protection Order and to make a recommendation to Council that it be implemented along with the introduction of fixed penalty notice fines of £100 for all controls contained in the Order.

100.2         The Head of Community Services explained that the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provided local authorities with powers to create Public Spaces Protection Orders where they were satisfied that activities carried out in a public place had, or were likely to have, a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality; was, or was likely to be, persistent or continuing in nature; was, or was likely to be, unreasonable; or where they justified the restrictions imposed. The Council currently controlled dog fouling through the provisions of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 but that legislation had been repealed and the dog fouling provisions had become part of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 – this had since been replaced by Dog Control Orders. The main advantages of the proposed approach was that it allowed for the increase of fixed penalty fines from £50 to £100 and for the introduction of a second offence of “failing to have readily available a suitable means of picking up any faeces deposited by a dog under an individual’s control”. The introduction of the Public Spaces Protection Order had required a 12 week period of public consultation and Page No. 47 of the report set out a summary of the consultation responses. In addition, a copy of the Order was attached to the report at Page No. 43 and it was confirmed that it would cover all areas of public land in the Borough.

100.3         Members agreed that this was an extremely emotive issue and felt the Order was definitely a step in the right direction in terms of stopping dog fouling. In response to Member queries, the Head of Community Services confirmed that evidence from the public was helpful but Officers would also be actively making patrols and issuing fixed penalty notices. In terms of the delegation of the powers to other organisations, it may be possible to provide them to officers of Parish Councils rather than Members; however, he undertook to check this. In addition, the Chief Executive indicated that it could be difficult to delegate powers to Parishes as training was required to ensure enforcement action was taken in the correct way. There was also some reluctance for them to issue fines as it could give rise to issues between neighbours. Another Member noted that, whilst people did pick up after their dogs, it was often difficult to find a bin  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100