Clean Streets Consultation Full Report November 2012 This report summarises the results of the Clean Streets Consultation conducted via a self completion and online survey carried out between 2 July and 24 September 2012. Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................... 3 Method .................................................................................................. 3 Respondents ........................................................................................ 5 Headline Summary ............................................................................... 6 Dog Control Orders ..................................................................................................................... 6 Fouling of Land by Dogs Order .................................................................................................. 6 Dogs on Leads by Direction Order ............................................................................................. 8 Dog Exclusion Order .................................................................................................................. 9 Dogs on Leads Order .............................................................................................................. 10 Public Urination and Defecation in the Street ......................................................................... 12 Respondents Profile ................................................................................................................. 13 Dog owners / Non-dog owners Consultation Analysis .................... 16 Fouling of Land by Dogs Order ................................................................................................ 16 Dogs on Leads by Direction Order ........................................................................................... 17 Dog Exclusion Order ................................................................................................................ 17 Dogs on Leads Order .............................................................................................................. 18 Consultation Analysis by Location ................................................... 20 Dog Control Orders ................................................................................................................... 21 Fouling of Land by Dogs Order ................................................................................................ 24 Dogs on Leads by Direction Order ........................................................................................... 38 Dog Exclusion Order ................................................................................................................ 43 Dogs on Leads Order .............................................................................................................. 50 Public Urination and Defecation in the Street ......................................................................... 58 Respondents Profile ................................................................................................................. 61 Comments by Question ..................................................................... 73 Fouling of Land by Dogs Order ................................................................................................ 73 Dogs on Leads by Direction Order ......................................................................................... 115 Dog Exclusion Order .............................................................................................................. 131 Dogs on Leads Order ............................................................................................................ 148 Any other comments ............................................................................................................... 162 Responses by Letter and Email ............................................................................................. 198 Clean Streets Consultation Full Report Page 2 Introduction Complaints by the public to the council and police, show cleaner streets are a priority for South Lakeland residents. The Clean Street consultation asked the public which Dog Control Orders they would like to see introduced giving South Lakeland District Council the power to deal with the most common problems associated with dogs, and if there is support for a public bylaw to give the Police the relevant power to take action in response to public urination and defecation in the street. Using the results of the consultation the council can put the most suitable measures in place resulting in cleaner streets for all. Method The Clean Streets Consultation was open to all members of the public, including those who own or walk dogs for others. The consultation was publicised through press releases and roadshows to promote the consultation, enabling members of the public to ask questions, view the maps, find out more and take part. These were held in most main towns and the two main agricultural shows as listed below: • Wednesday 25 July North Lonsdale Show, Ulverston • Tuesday 14 August ASDA, Kendal • Thursday 16 August Market Square, Ulverston • Saturday 18 August Pets at Home, Kendal • Monday 20 August Main Street Car Park, Grange-over-Sands • Tuesday 21 August Joss Lane Car Park, Sedbergh • Wednesday 22 August Booths, Windermere • Thursday 23 August Booths, Kirkby Lonsdale • Friday 24 August Market Square, Milnthorpe • Thursday 13 September Westmorland County Show The consultation was accessible for those without online access with paper copies available in the SLDC offices at Kendal, Ulverston and Windermere and in all libraries across the district. Packs containing the summary, poster and a supply of questionnaires were sent to all town and parish councils to distribute in their parish Clean Streets Consultation Full Report Page 3 An email with a link to the consultation was sent to all key stakeholders, those who had registered an interest in SLDC consultations, equality and diversity groups, town and parish councils and Local Area Partnerships. The following were available on the consultation pages of the website www.southlakeland.gov.uk A Summary of the consultation – Maps of the areas explaining the covered by the purpose of the orders e.g. Acre consultation and Moss, Kendal how to take part Frequently asked questions – giving further detailed information on the issues, in a question and answer format Online survey – respondents were able to complete their responses using the online survey, paper responses were uploaded onto the survey software. Clean Streets Consultation Full Report Page 4 A dedicated email address [email protected], and SLDC’s contact centre number 0845 050 4434, were available for people to ask questions and request copies of questionnaires by post. The methodology used in this survey followed the SLDC consultation guidelines and included one mailing. Information in respect to the council’s community engagement strategy is available on the council’s website - http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/services/community/community-engagement.aspx Respondents There were 1259 complete usable responses to the consultation, of these: Total % of total Responses Dog owners 578 46% Non-dog owners 665 53% Not Answered 16 1% This summary reports the headline results of the Clean Streets consultation. The full results including all comments and additional analysis is available on the consultation pages of the SLDC website. Clean Streets Consultation Full Report Page 5 Headline Summary In the spring edition of South Lakeland News it was reported that dog fouling was a problem for 81% of residents. In 2011 there were 146 reported incidents of dog fouling to SLDC. The majority of complaints were from residents living in the urban areas of South Lakeland; however there are still a significant number of complaints in rural areas. Communities also let the council know that dog fouling is a problem through their SLDC councillors and community or parish plans. In response to these reports and the introduction of new legislation, SLDC would like to put Dog Control Orders in place which will help tackle the problems being reported by communities. The new regulations specify the offences and the procedure for the introduction of Dog Control Orders. The offences proposed are: a) Failing to remove dog faeces b) Not putting and keeping a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer c) Excluding dogs from specified land; and d) Not keeping a dog on a lead where appropriate The penalty for not complying with the Orders is a fine not exceeding level three, currently £1,000. As an alternative to being prosecuted in a magistrate’s court for such an offence an authorised officer may give an offender a notice offering the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for the offence by payment of a fixed penalty. Dog Control Orders Question 1: Do you support the general principal of Dog Control Orders? All Respondents Dog owners / walkers Non-dog owners Total Total % of dog Total % of non- % of all Responses Responses owners Responses dog owners Yes 1,099 88% 466 81% 627 94% No 99 8% 89 15 % 11 2% Not 54 4% 23 4% 27 4% Answered 88% or respondents strongly support or support the general principle of dog control orders. The general principal of Dog Control Orders has more support from non-dog owners than it does from dog owners/walkers.