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The Dog Control and Anti-Social Behaviour Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) have officially come into force for a duration of 3 years.
PSPOs, permitted under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, prohibit specific actions within designated areas in England and Wales.
Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order
Following a successful consultation held between October and November 2023 with 126 responses, the Dog Control PSPO applies across the Epping Forest District and makes it an offence for a person in charge of a dog to:
- Fail to remove dog faeces deposited on any publicly accessible land within the district.
- Fail to put a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer, on any publicly accessible land within the district.
- Fail to limit the number of dogs they are taking onto publicly accessible land within the district, to four dogs.
- Fail to produce a receptacle for picking up dog faeces when requested to do so by an authorized officer while walking a dog on any publicly accessible land within the district.
- Fail to exclude a dog from specified fenced areas within the district.
Anti-Social Behaviour Public Spaces Protection Order
A consultation on the Anti-Social Behaviour PSPO was also carried out in October/ November 2023 and received 112 responses.
The Anti-Social Behaviour PSPO applies to The Broadway, Debden and relates to:
- Loitering by persons in council housing blocks and estates (including but not limited to any stairwell, lobby area, and communal balconies), causing nuisance, intimidation, harassment, alarm or distress or using or dealing drugs directly or indirectly causing damage or other ASB. For the purposes of this PSPO the term “loitering” shall include (without prejudice to the generality of its ordinary meaning) the actions of standing sitting lingering (i) aimlessly or without an obvious reason; or (ii) for the purpose of begging, drug taking, or drug dealing.
- Any person in possession of an open vessel(s) of alcohol intoxicating liquor in a public place.
- Any person sitting or loitering on the highway or any pedestrian area of the Restricted Area demanding or begging or perceived to be begging by an authorised person for money or any other item, whether placing any item before them for receipt of money or otherwise.
- Any person flyposting (including the unlawful affixing of any placard, notice or sign to street furniture) or any person permitting and/or benefitting from such flyposting.
- Any person using a skateboard, bicycle, scooter, skates or any other self-propelled wheeled vehicle in such a manner as to cause damage to property or that causes or is likely to cause intimidation, harassment, alarm, distress, nuisance or annoyance to any person
Cllr Ken Williamson, Portfolio Holder for Regulatory Services said:
We all want to create a district free from anti-social behaviour where dogs and people happily co-exist. By tackling these issues we can ease the disruption and distress for our residents, and promote responsible dog ownership whilst maintain the cleanliness and safety of our public spaces.
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