We're watching you! Dog fouling pilot set for Newport
Telford & Wrekin Council is poised to launch a borough-wide crackdown on dog fouling – with the initial emphasis on a pilot scheme targeting hotspot areas in and around Newport.
The council is putting up Keep Britain Tidy’s glow in the dark “Thoughtless Dog Owners - We’re Watching You” signs across the borough to highlight the problem.
However, this will be pre-empted in Newport by the local pilot campaign which will be run by local volunteers.
The campaign will remind people that they can dispose of their dog’s mess in any bin and that free bags are available from all of the council’s First Point customer contact centres.
Volunteers have identified three specific areas of Newport where they will be focusing their efforts to raise awareness of the issue. These are St Andrews Way, Rowan Drive and Oak Avenue; public open space at Longford Road/Dungarven Drive; Granville Avenue.
The volunteers will be leafleting households, businesses and schools in the hotspot areas and patrolling those places during the coming weeks.
They will literally be highlighting individual instances of dog fouling by spraying them. This will be followed up by volunteers collecting up the highlighted dog fouling to show the scale of the problem.
This work will be followed up by the We’re Watching You signs going up in Newport. A trial campaign of the posters carried out last year by 17 councils including Telford & Wrekin Council resulted in a 46 per cent reduction in dog fouling incidents.
Councillor Shaun Davies, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “We know that this can be an emotive issue and often a key area of complaint and dissatisfaction for our residents.
“Dog fouling is both unpleasant and dangerous and the campaign is aimed at raising awareness among the community and encouraging responsible dog ownership.
“There are an estimated eight million dogs nationwide producing more than 1,000 tonnes of mess every day so clearly there is a need for dog owners to clean up after their pet.”
The campaign follows a plea at a full meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council before Christmas by Independent ward member Councillor Peter Scott, who asked for help in tackling the problem.
Councillor Scott said: “Local residents have highlighted their concerns about the level of dog fouling in certain areas of Newport so I am delighted that the Council is supporting my efforts to encourage more responsible dog ownership.
“I am convinced that a campaign to raise awareness of the issue will result in a reduction of instances in Newport, the aim has to be to make dog fouling socially unacceptable.”
The Newport campaign will run from its launch on Thursday until the end of March, when the Council and volunteers will evaluate its effectiveness to see if it has resulted in a reduction of instances of dog fouling.
There is scope for the pilot to be rolled out to other local areas in the borough depending on the results and whether there is interest from local volunteers.
Anyone who fails to pick up after their dog can be issued with a fine of £50 or up to £1000 if prosecuted in the magistrates court.
