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Dogs are to be banned completely from a public park in Bristol - because dog owners in the area are failing to clean up after their pets.

South Street Park in Bedminster will be a dog-free zone if the council goes ahead with a request to impose a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) on the park.

The park has shared ownership between the city council and Compass Point Primary School, which uses the open space as its playing field.

The school has been there for more than 100 years, while the park was created after the war when an entire street of terraces was bombed and later demolished.

Children at Compass Point have used the playing field for years as their sports pitches and PE space, but in recent months, the issue of dog mess has caused increasing problems for the teachers and pupils.

The school has use of the park during the day, and leaves it open during evenings and weekends for the public.

“The issue of dog mess has prevented our children having a safe space for sport and outdoor learning,” said Linda Brown, in a letter to local residents.

She said that the school and its PTFA body are applying to the council for a PSPO, which would prevent dogs from entering the playing field at any time.

“If this is accepted, Bristol City Council will be able to enforce this restriction by means of fixed penalties which will enable the school to use the field without threat to the health and safety of the children,” added Ms Brown.

The area of cleared streets that now makes up the rectangle of South Street Park includes a staff car park for Compass Point Primary School, a separate children’s play area, the main park itself and a specific stand-alone, fenced off ‘Bark Park’ area reserved just for dogs, which will be unaffected by this PSPO and still available for dog owners in the area.

PSPOs are orders which can be imposed on specific areas of the city, and can be used to ban or control a range of things. In Bristol they are almost exclusively used to ban the public drinking of alcohol - and affect almost a dozen areas across Bristol, including half of Dame Emily Park, on the other side of Bedminster, and Castle Park in the city centre.

Local residents have been invited to comment as part of a consultation period, which will last for 28 days from May 24.