Public Spaces Protection Order – Dog Control 2023

Overview

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) currently has three separate Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) relating to Dog Control covering the former legacy district and borough council areas of East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough, each ending in November 2023. There is no PSPO relating to Dog Control in the area of Corby.

A PSPO allows the council to enforce key restrictions including dog exclusion in all fenced children’s play areas, county wide controls on dog fouling, dogs on lead orders in places such as cemeteries and the ability to request dogs to be placed on leads when required.

NNC is seeking to review the content of the current PSPOs and incorporate the Corby area into one overall PSPO relating to Dog Control across North Northamptonshire.

Having one aligned PSPO in place for dog control, will bring all existing conditions and controls together in one place, will remove inconsistencies across the areas and make enforcement more straightforward and easier to understand for the public.

What are the main proposed changes?

• Remove the requirement that dogs must be kept on a lead no more than 1.5m in length in prescribed areas – currently this is only within the Kettering area.
• Remove the restriction that a person may not take more than 6 dogs onto any land at any time – currently this is only within the Kettering area.
• Elements of the existing orders are replicated to cover the former Corby Borough Council area, including dog exclusion from all enclosed or fenced off children’s play areas, dog fouling control and a requirement to have dogs on leads in certain areas such as churches and cemeteries.

A pre-consultation exercise has taken place with the Town and Parish Councils and key partners, and their feedback has been incorporated into the proposed draft PSPO.

Consultation dates

The consultation for this PSPO will be made up of two phases. This is the first phase, which started Thursday 22 June and close midnight on Thursday 03 August 2023.

Following analysis of the consultation feedback a recommendations report will be made. This may change some of the contents of the draft PSPO.

A revised draft PSPO will be made, which will go out to consultation later this year. After this second phase of consultation the final proposed PSPO and any amendments will be presented to the council’s Executive for formal sign off.

Related Documents

Please see the following documents for further information, including the alternative options considered:

• Public Spaces Protection Order – Dog Control 8 June 2023 Executive Report
• Draft Public Spaces Protection Order 2023 – Dog Control
• Dog Control PSPO FAQs

Have your say

Please tell us your views on the proposed draft PSPO Dog Control by completing this questionnaire.

Your feedback will be part of a report with many other people’s feedback, so you will not be personally identified.

You can also access this online questionnaire free of charge at any North Northamptonshire Council library. Please see the Library website or telephone 0300 126 3000 to check opening times.

If you have any queries, comments or would like a copy of this questionnaire in another format (including paper, easy read or large print) you can contact us by email, post or telephone. Our contact details are as follows:

Email address: envprotection@northnorthants.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 126 3000

Postal address:

North Northamptonshire Council
Environmental Protection
Swanspool House
Doddington Road
Wellingborough
Northants
NN8 1BP

The deadline for completing this questionnaire is midnight Thursday, 03 August 2023.

Thank you for helping us by completing this questionnaire.

For information about how consultation and engagement responses are managed, please see the consultation and engagement privacy notice.