Ards and North Down Borough is to sharply increase its fines for littering, dog fouling and failing to leash a dog, with new penalties reaching two and a half times the current forfeit.
Elected members at the recent full meeting of Ards and North Down Council signed off its Environment Committee decision to raise maximum fines for dog owners from £80 to £200, and the reduced rate from £80 to £150.
The reduced penalty is given for those who pay within 14 days, and the full fine for a further 14 days, after which the council may bring the matter to the court.
Read more: Ards and North Down to increase flying of union flag after equality report
Currently in the borough around 90 percent of fines are paid within the discount period. The council states it retains 100 percent of fixed penalty income and says repeat offenders are ‘rare.’
The decision at Ards and North Down follows a change in regulations at all local authorities, which came into effect last December. The new regulations, covering people who litter, dog owners who fail to clean up their pet’s foul, and who fail to put a dog on a lead in designated areas, specify penalties will not be less than £50 and not more than £200. Local authorities have the capacity to choose any penalty amount between these figures.
In August 2020, Ards and North Down Borough wrote to the Stormont Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to request the maximum penalty be increased from £80 to £250. The department replied at the time it was "reviewing" penalties.
At the council meeting in Bangor Town Hall, UUP Councillor Richard Smart, who proposed the change, told the chamber: “This will rightly be seen by residents as a much needed crackdown on these offences, which are not only damaging, but are also very antisocial habits.
“It is absolutely right the polluter should pay, whether it be throwing litter out their car window or allowing their dog to foul. The general rate payer should not be paying that expense, and it will be widely welcome that we as a council have embraced the most substantial increase that we can.”
He added: “The ideal is that the council gives out zero fines, because people have seen the error of their ways and habits, but this is unlikely in the short term. The first step in this direction is getting the message out there to the wider community that littering and dog fouling will hit offenders in the pocket like never before.”
READ NEXT:
North Down £7m coastal greenway plan to be withdrawn following local lobbying
Ards and North Down Council agrees £50,000 local hardship fund
NI Council wants crackdown on residents leaving bins in street 24 hours after collection
Ards Peninsula councillor angry over children left playing in the dark at council facility
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
