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Dog walkers in Plymstock have been left furious at discovering they could be fined £100 for walking their dogs off lead in a popular park - and have unwittingly risked such fines for years.

Plymouth City Council has recently posted up new signs at King George V field in Elburton reminding dog walkers they have to prevent their dogs from going onto the rugby sports pitches at the ground or risk a fine from the council's new in-house litter enforcement officers.

According to the council, the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSOPO) - Control of Dogs was created to "enforce responsible dog ownership".

The order, which falls under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act of 2014, replaces the four separate Dog Control Orders which precluded the PSPO and brought them under one banner.

(Image: Penny Cross)

The PSPO – Control of Dogs specifies four offences:

Failing to remove dog poo straight away

Allowing a dog to enter land from which they are excluded

Not keeping a dog on a lead where this is required

Not putting a dog on a lead when ordered to do so by an authorised officer

In regards to Plymouth City Council sports and recreation fields, an excluded area is any land which has been marked off for sporting activity - such as a rugby or football field.

A council spokesperson told Plymouth Live it was untrue dogs were being banned from parks or that they must always be kept on leads in parks - but it was the responsibility of the dog owner to have control over their dogs to prevent them straying onto sports pitches.

They said: "Dogs can be let off their leads in the parks as they always have been. There has been no change in the rules.

(Image: Penny Cross)

"However, as with all parks in the city, dogs do have to be on leads on marked sports pitches. The new signs are located next to such pitches.

"Again, this is not a change in the rules. Dogs have had to be on leads on marked sports pitches in Plymouth since 2008.

"We hope this clears up any confusion."

Cllr Vivien Pengelly, who represents the Plymstock Dunstone ward, said she was quite shocked at the signs being put up and the inherent threat it carried for dog walkers at the park.

She said: "I've spoken to the rugby club at the park and they say they have never complained. In fact they want to encourage dog walkers and ultimately invite them into their facilities.

"There has been no reports of problems at King George V field and the dog walkers there are really, really good at ensuring any mess is picked up and placed in the bins provided - even though the council recently took away some of the bins from the park.

"The residents I've spoken to are hopping mad at the signs.

"Many of the residents in the Plymstock area who regularly use that field and have for many years are elderly and we encourage the elderly and our senior citizens to have dogs because it helps them with company, helps them to socialise, encourages them to exercise and go walking. As it is virtually all the dog walkers walk around the boundary of the rugby pitches anyway.

"Now they will be fearful if their dog strays over the white line and on to a rugby pitch and put them in fear of some enforcement officer storming over and fining them £100 which they can ill afford. It's not like there's a lot of other green spaces they can take their dogs to stretch their legs or run after a ball."

One dog-walker told Plymouth Live: "I've been walking my dogs here for years and must admit I had no idea about this order. There's lots of older people in the area who potter around the edge of the field and sometime throw a stick or ball for their dog to chase after.

(Image: Sarah Waddington)

"It's a bit of a shock to know that some park attendant could leap out at any moment and hit you with a £100 fine because Fido has suddenly put a paw out of place. I can't imagine the older dog walkers will take kindly to that."

The area dog walkers at King George V field will be further reduced at some stage this year after council chiefs approved a new 3m wide surfaced path to be shared by pedestrians and cyclists running town two sides of the park, giving better access to Sherford residents to routes into Plymouth.

The application, made in late July 2018, was granted full permission on November 21 by delegated decision. The application received two objections and two supporting comments.

A Plymouth City Council spokesman said: "Dogs have had to be on leads on marked sports pitches in Plymouth since 2008.

"We consulted on this at the time and during this consultation, it was considered that dog owners were far more likely to pick up after their dogs if they were on leads.

"Because of the mixed use of parks and playing fields, dog on leads on marked sports pitches was deemed an appropriate level of control.

"One of the reasons that we brought environmental enforcement back in house was so that we could have the freedom to patrol in more areas of the city, based on intelligence from the public and from other services.

"We have had complaints about dog fouling in King George V playing fields and so this is why we have patrolled there today."

Areas where your dogs are not allowed

You are not allowed to let your dog enter any children’s play area, bowling green, croquet lawn, skate park, putting green, crazy golf or school grounds that are totally enclosed and have exclusion signs at the entrances.

Areas where your dog must kept on a lead

Central Park - specific areas only

Houndiscombe Park

Moor View Park

Pounds House

Stoke Damerel Park

Thorn Park

West Hoe Park

(Image: Penny Cross)

When will an authorised officer ask you to put your dog on a lead?

If your dog’s behaviour is causing annoyance or disturbance to any person, animal or bird and it needs to be on a lead to prevent this, you may be asked to put your dog on a lead.

Penalty

If you do not comply with any of the requirements of the Public Spaces Protection Order - Control of Dogs, you may receive a Fixed Penalty Notice for £100. If you do not pay the fine you may be prosecuted.

For more information on dog control visit Plymouth City Council's website.

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