Bromley Council has proposed a draft for a new Public Spaces Protection Order 2023 (Dog Control), which will be effective for at least the next three years. 

We have until Wednesday 31st May, 11:59pm to oppose these changes.

In Article 5 of the draft, the Council is proposing that on public land:

No member of public be allowed to walk more than two dogs off lead

No member of public be allowed to walk more than three dogs at once (two off lead and one on lead)

Any dog walker who applies to and pays the council for an appropriate license, will be allowed to walk a maximum of four dogs (two off lead and two on lead)

Click here to be taken to Bromley Council's description of the new proposal on their website. At the bottom of the page is a link to the full proposal in pdf form.

How this proposal will negatively affect us:

• Dog owners using dog walking services may face a steep rise in dog walking prices (a 50% price rise if dog walkers were to maintain their current livelihoods).
• Dog owners using dog walking services may be let down by their current dog walker, due to spaces on walks being restricted, and may face a shortage of dog walker availability.
• Dog owners of three dogs will no longer be allowed the joy of seeing their three dogs play off-lead together in public parks or woodlands. This will also be a very confusing change/situation for their dogs.
• Dog owners of more than three dogs will no longer be allowed to walk their dogs in public at the same time. 
• Dog owners of two dogs may be discouraged from getting a third.
• Dog walkers will not be allowed to walk more than four dogs and will be restricted to keeping two of these four dogs on lead. This will be very confusing for any dogs who are used to going out with a dog walker and their four legged friends. The dogs kept on lead will get less exercise than the dogs off-lead, and may feel frustrated that they can't join in with off-lead play.
• Dog walkers will lose a third of their potential earnings - under current licence restrictions, they pay the council to be allowed to walk five or six dogs, six being the current maximum.
• Dog walkers will be forced to either let down some of their customers to oblige to these new restrictions, or extend their working hours, which may not be possible in the winter months.
• Quality dog walkers who enjoy seeing the dogs they walk play, socialise and enjoy the benefits of walking in groups, may seek other avenues of work. An experienced dog walker knows the value of giving dogs the freedom to play and interact in a group, and may not want to see that value lost.

If you do not want Bromley Council's drafted proposal to go ahead, there are several things you can do to help stop this:

1) Sign this petition, leave accurate contact details, and any comments you may have, all of which Bromley Council will be made aware of.

2) Fill in Bromley Council's Dog Control PSPO Questionnaire, found at the bottom of the webpage on this link.

3) Make a complaint on Bromley Council's website, the complaint form can be found here. On the second page, when asked "which service/issue is your feedback about?", select "parks and green spaces".

4) Contact your local MP (Sir Bob Neil), his contact details can be found here.

Thank you for giving your time to read this, and for your support.