5 of the 6 councillors ignored this letter. Cllr Wakeham sent it to "the appropriate department". In his view, this was the Dept of Environmental Health.

Dear Councillor,

I invite you to read through these paragraphs and give your reactions.

1 While there is already a satisfactory national law concerning dog-fouling, the Council’s actions under the Public Spaces Protection Order focuses on banning off-lead dogs from sports fields, thus creating a double standard of hygiene across Plymouth. Areas other than sports pitches are de facto less monitored than sports pitches. This is not welcome by the public at large who have families and toddlers who play on the grass.

Sportsman who play on the fields in boots with studs are given favoured status . This is illogical and divisive.

As an alternative to this biased situation, I suggest you withdraw the PSPO and impose fines for those who do not pick up after their dogs across all public spaces, instead of singling out sports pitches for preferential treatment towards sports participants at the expense of the majority of the community.

2 The recent clamp-down on walking dogs on sports pitches is a stark change to what we have been used to. Without a public awareness campaign, without reaching out to residents’ groups or those who have dogs, the Council has suddenly decided that its attitude has changed and has started to fine people who have previously been able to walk their dogs on these same areas without any hassle from local authorities. 

This unannounced about-turn is yet again completely counter to the spirit and execution of the Government’s guidance in this area.

         “It is important for councils to consider carefully the potential impact of a PSPO on different sections of their communities. in introducing an Order, councils must take care that to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act requires public authorities to have due regard to a number of equality considerations when exercising their functions. Proposals for a PSPO should therefore be reviewed to determine how they might target or impact on certain groups.” (Public Spaces Protection Order, Guidance for councils, p10)

3 The recent clamp down has seen many dog owners terrified. Specifically, two men from the Council dressed in black hoodies, with body cameras and clip boards approach residents out on a walk, tell them to give their names and addresses, threaten them with the police being brought in if they do not comply. Then they issue a £100 fine. Our reports say that the majority of those stopped are women.

Is this appropriate? Is this what Plymouth wants to be known for? I am ashamed that a local authority in the UK should use such bullying, inappropriate tactics. It is shameful!

This heavy-handed approach is destroying the friendly community spirit that daily our walks create. The pleasure in meeting fellow dog owners has been wiped out by the council’s ill-advised out actions.

         “The Home Office’s statutory guidance reiterates that PSPOs should be used responsibly and proportionately, only in response to issues that cause anti-social behaviour, and only where necessary to protect the public”. ( Public Spaces Protection Orders, Guidance for Councils, page 5).

Plymouth Council’s measures do not align with this guidance. In fact, they have created outrage amongst a much larger section of the community than those they seek to favour.

4 So far, we have heard only of women being stopped. Do council records bear this out? We would be interested if you could let us know the number of women stopped and the number of men stopped.

5 While the council response to criticism of the recent clamp-down is that ‘nothing has changed’, this is far from the reality. Sports pitches essentially take up almost all the land in many recreational areas (e.g. Plymstock and Elburton), so that means if you are walking a dog you can now only walk round a narrow band on the outer part of the field. Obviously, the dog must be on a lead.

This is totally different to the situation we have been used to. It means that the fields have essentially been removed from the largest group of users. Totally unfair, divisive and anti-community.

         “It is important that any Orders put in place do not inadvertently restrict everyday sociability in public spaces.” (Public spaces Protection Orders, Guidance for Councils, page7).

In fact, this is exactly what has happened as a result of the misjudged imposition of the PSPO.

6       “In some cases of course it will not be appropriate to introduce broad-scale restrictions. When drafting an Order placing restriction on dogs for instance, it should be considered that owners have a duty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, to provide for their animal’s welfare, which includes exercising them. In determining the area covered by restrictions, councils should therefore consider how to accommodate the need for owners to exercise their animals.

The area which the PSPO will cover must be clearly defined. Mapping out areas where certain behaviours  are permitted may also be helpful: for instance identifying specific park areas where dogs can be let off a lead without breaching the PSPO.” ((Public spaces Protection Orders, Guidance for Councils, page9).

Clearly Plymouth Council have offered the public no alternative space. The Council has removed usable land from dog walkers and not replaced it with anything. This is counter to the letter and the spirit of the aforementioned guidance document.

7 We understand that the considerable revenue generated by these spot fines is welcome at a time of hardship. However, penalising citizens who are innocently taking a stroll in the neighbourhood is not an appropriate way to bolster town finances. In fact, it is a shameful abuse of power.

8 Other Consequences of the PSOP

I heard yesterday from a local resident that he always used to pick up litter from the fields in Plymstock. He and a friend volunteer to clear the fields of litter and regularly fill whole bin bags.

Now that Plymouth Council is acting in such an egregious way, they have both decided to stop litter-picking.

These recent actions are creating antipathy and actively turning residents against the local council.

MAJORITY USERS

Let us remember that dog owners are out there day in day out, using public fields much more than any sports team. Let us live peaceably together.

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I invite anyone who has signed our petition to post a comment or suggest any other though on this matter