Dogs set to be banned from Caerphilly play areas (From Campaign Series)

Dogs set to be banned from Caerphilly play areas

1:20pm Saturday 16th February 2013 in Campaign news By Chris Wood, Reporter

DOGS are set to be banned from 122 children's play areas in Caerphilly county borough, with anyone flouting the new regulation liable to be hit with a fine of up to £1,000.

The local authority's cabinet will be recommended to approve the proposal, which will see a clampdown on pet owners allowing their dogs to enter play areas and also on those who let them leave mess there.

A new Dog Control Order will cover 97 enclosed children's play areas and 25 multi-use games areas, which will all require signage to advertise this at a cost of around £10,000 to the council.

In a report by head of public protection Rob Hartshorn, it states that the cost of enforcement would be met from within existing budgets, while additional income could be generated as a result of fines paid by people flouting the order.

It is already an offence to fail to clean up dog mess on recreational land, but the additional Dog Control Order takes that a step further and was first proposed last March.

A public consultation exercise was undertaken last September, which brought 33 responses, with 24 (92 per cent) people replying in favour of the proposal.

Of these, five felt it should go further, with two thinking dogs should be excluded from all sports pitches and one saying they should be kept from school fields as well.

Cabinet on Tuesday will be recommended to approve plans to exclude dogs from children's play areas and clamp down on those failing to remove dog faeces from such areas, with these coming into effect on May 1.

In recommending this, Mr Hartshorn said in the report it is: "To establish additional controls to address responsible dog ownership within the county borough."