Ribble Valley Council limits dog walkers

Ribble Valley Council is to renew its controls on dogs, which makes it an offence to be in charge of more than four dogs at once, after 97% of residents backed the continuation of the crackdown in a consultation on the issue. 

The East Lancashire authority introduced a three-year public spaces protection order (PSPO) in 2017 and renewed it in 2020. It will now remain in force for a further three years. 

In addition, the PSPO makes it an offence to: 

• fail to pick up dog poop in a public place; 
• not be in possession of pet poop bags; 
• let a dog off its lead in Clitheroe Cemetery; 
• allow a dog to enter a playground or sports pitch; 
• refuse to put a dog on a lead if asked by a dog warden. 

Anyone breaching the order faces a £100 fixed penalty notice or a fine of up to £1,000. 

Andrew Dent, the council’s Head of Environmental Health, said: “The main purpose of the PSPO is to strike a balance between the needs of people using sports grounds for recreation and leisure and those, including dog walkers, who use them as public open space. 

“The PSPO allows us to make people’s lives safer and healthier, and protect and enhance the environmental quality of the borough by putting controls on dogs, particularly fouling.”