Surrey council extends dog controls

Runnymede Borough Council, in Surrey, has agreed to extend its Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) on dog control for a further three years.

The order applies to public land in Runnymede and requires those in control of dogs to be in control of the pets, immediately collect dog faeces, and keep the animals leashed when asked to by authorised officers. Dogs must also be kept out of fenced or enclosed children’s play areas. Failure to comply could lead to a fixed penalty notice of £100.

The council carried out a consultation on whether to extend the PSPO in February, which received just 15 responses.

The feedback was overwhelmingly supportive, with 80% of respondents saying the order was in their opinion successful or very successful, with 100% supporting extending it for a further three years.

“It is primarily a deterrent tool that sets clear expectations to aspects of responsible dog ownership.”

Councillor Shannon Saise-Marshall (Conservative: Chertsey Riverside) said: “I have to say that I think it is absolutely the right approach, I am a dog owner myself and so I didn’t want more regulation, but it has to be something and it has to be that dogs aren’t allowed into children’s play areas.”

She asked what the fallout was from the 260 complaints, and whether there had been any enforcement. Officers said: “We need the issue to be persistent and to have details of when this is occurring in order to justify allocating resources.

“For the very worst non-compliance, we can look to make officers available to enforce the order. There hasn’t been any fixed penalty notices issued in that period but we have had complaints and if there is enough evidence we will still speak to those who are identified and normally that deters the behaviour.”

Temporary signs will be installed to notify the PSPO has been extended while those who rely on assistance dogs will be excluded from the order. The extension will begin on June 14, 2026 and run until June 14 2029.