Arun dog-control rules renewed and expanded

Hotham Park, Bognor Regis, approved additional Dog PSPOs. Picture: Local Democracy Reporting Service

Rules concerning dogs on leads have been renewed and expanded by Arun District Council.

Public Space Protection Orders for the control of dogs in specific areas were renewed by the council’s environment committee, with the aim of encouraging responsible dog ownership in Arun.

This included three new areas enforcing dogs on leads; public water play areas, fenced and unfenced, including those in Place St Maur and the Hotham Park Discovery Centre in Bognor Regis, and Littlehampton’s West Beach Board Walk.

A public consultation attracted 396 responses from 179 dog owners and 217 non-owners, with 75 to 98 per cent support for the Public Space Protection Order proposals. Two Arun disctrict councillors responding in support of the proposals.

Some residents voiced concerns about enforcement of the Public Space Protection Orders and the need for extra bins for dog waste.

The dogs-on-leads Public Space Protection Order states dogs must be kept on leads in cemeteries and churchyards, specific leisure gardens, fields, seafront leisure areas, part of the seafront and seafront areas, and specific stretches of promenades adjacent to excluded beach areas between May 1 and September 30 each year.

Other dog-control PSPOs include fouling of land by dogs, dog exclusions, and dogs on leads by direction, meaning owners only have to use a lead when directed by an authorised officer.

The Public Space Protection Orders were introduced in Arun District Council in 2017, to encourage responsible dog ownership and protect the public, and need to be reviewed and renewed every three years to stay in place.