A council committee has recommended that dogs should be excluded from sports pitches in Carmarthenshire. The place, sustainability and climate change scrutiny committee voted unanimously on the recommendation, which was put forward by Councillor Colin Evans.
Introducing a ban would require an additional public space protection order following consideration and approval by cabinet, and the committee was told that such a measure would have to be evidence-based and proportionate. There is already a public space protection order in force in Carmarthenshire which requires owners to pick up their dog's mess, among other things. Since the order was introduced in 2016 there have been 3,354 dog-related complaints, including fouling. These have led to 108 fixed penalty notices and six prosecutions.
Committee chairman, Councillor John James, said it was an emotive issue. Referring to the results of a survey in a report before the committee, he said: "I think it shows we have a problem and people want to do something about it."
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The survey asked groups, including those which leased sports pitches from the council, if they thought the existing order was sufficient, to which 54% replied no and 46% said yes. A number of requests were made for a dog ban on pitches. One group said: "Often games are stopped so that mess can be cleared. Polite signs have been erected asking that dogs should not be allowed on the pitches but these are ignored and have no legal power."
The council's view was that any request should be dealt with on a site by site basis and backed up by detailed evidence. Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen, cabinet member for climate change, decarbonisation and sustainability, said the site by site option would be more likely than a blanket ban to get the support of the local community.
There was also concern that banning dogs from pitches would reduce the land available in an area for owners to exercise their dogs. The committee report added that some local authorities which have introduced dog exclusion orders on sports pitches had indicated that mess was still being left on them.
Councillor Tina Higgins said she felt a blanket ban would be heavy-handed, but it was backed by Councillor Dorian Phillips, who said everyone would know where they stood. The idea was put then forward as a proposal by Cllr Evans, who said: "Dogs should not be allowed on sports pitches, for obvious reasons."
The committee was told that the the council only had eight enforcement officers who could issue fixed penalty notices for dog fouling, and that information from the public about hotspots and repeat fouling offenders was key.
Councillors agreed that the majority of owners were conscientious and did the right thing. Cllr James said: "It's a mindless minority who spoil it, and they don't care."
He felt that fixed penalty notices should be higher, and that offenders should be named and shamed. "That puts people off," he said. Other councillors bemoaned owners who picked up their dog's mess in a bag and then chucked the bag in a hedge. "It's crackers," said Cllr Evans.
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