DURSLEY Town Council’s grounds staff are now fully trained and authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) for dog fouling offences.

The council are the first town or parish council in the Stroud District to obtain this authorisation from Stroud District Council (SDC).

A person responsible for a dog who refuses to pick up any faeces, may be liable to a fine of £75, reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days.

Failure to pay the fine could result in a maximum penalty of £1,000.

Town Clerk John Kay said: “Our first priority is to educate rather than fine any members of the public, the council’s staff will offer a free bag to anyone who is witnessed not removing the faeces, but failure to cooperate will result in the Fixed Penalty Notice being issued.”

In 2012, SDC made a Dog Control Order as follows:- “Failing to remove the faeces when a dog under the person’s control has defecated on any

land within the District which is open to the air and to which the public has a right of access.”

In October 2017 the Dog Control Order automatically transitioned to become a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO); this allowed FPNs may only be issued by an “authorised person”, i.e. “a person authorised by the local authority that made the PSPO”.

Dursley Town Council approached SDC with a proposal to request the authorisation of specified employees to enforce the PSPO.

This was approved at a meeting of SDC’s full council on June 7, 2018 and the town council’s staff have now received the relevant training.

Deputy mayor, cllr Mandy Woodward said: “The problem of dog fouling is always worse at this time of the year and the council unanimously supported cllr Matt Nicholson when he presented this option to council in 2018.

"The agreement between the town and district councils is an excellent example of local authority organisations working together to benefit local residents.”