Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

Faringdon foulers campaign welcomed

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Monday 23 June 2008

A high-profile campaign reminding owners to clean up after their dogs has made a difference according to residents.

The Vale of White Horse District Council has just completed a two-week pilot project in Faringdon which aimed to tackle the problem of dog mess littering paths and pavements in the town.

During the last two weeks, the Environment Wardens Colin Marshall and Sadie Broadbridge have spent a lot of time patrolling parts of the town that are badly or regularly fouled, including a path that leads to the Folly, Gravel Walk, Standford Road and Ferndale Street.

The wardens have also left eight stencils around dog mess which owners have not cleaned up as they should. It is hoped the "CLEAN IT UP" chalk warnings on pavements will serve as a visible reminder to dog owners that they are legally responsible for cleaning up after their pet as well as helping pedestrians to avoid the dog mess.

Following the two week campaign, the wardens delivered letters to around 100 homes in the Dog Fouling Action Areas to gain people's feedback on the project.

Some of the comments received from members of the public so far include:

• Keep up the much needed work, it will gradually get the message through
• Dog fouling used to be a terrible problem around here although it is a lot better recently, the clean up campaign is definitely working
• Dog fouling puts me off walking my children to school and from walking up the Folly. There has been a noticeable difference, thank you

However there were also some negative comments, including some that said there were not enough dog bins in the area.

As a result, the Environment Wardens have recommended that a new dog bin should be installed at the main entrance to the Folly, between Tuckers Road and Nursery View. This new bin should be in place in about a month's time.

Colin Marshall said: "I'm really pleased with the response we've had to this project. It certainly seems to have attracted people's attention and highlighted the problem. We hope it has also made those few inconsiderate people who were not cleaning up after their dogs think twice and change their ways. We will continue to keep a close eye on this area to see if this campaign does help to reduce the amount of dog mess."

Sadie Broadbridge said: "The feedback we've had has been really useful, particularly the negative comments about there not being enough dog bins in that area. We have listened to those suggestions and organised for a new bin to be added. Hopefully this will help encourage owners to clear up after their dogs to reduce the amount of mess littering the path up the Folly."

 Cllr Richard Webber, Executive Member with portfolio responsibility for Environmental Health, added: "The aim of the campaign was to target those few inconsiderate people who don't clean up after their pets and make life unpleasant for everyone else. From the comments we have received it appears that the campaign has really helped get this message across. If this results in just one person changing their behaviour it will have been a success."

Anyone who the wardens catch breaking the law by not cleaning up after their dog could be served with an on-the-spot fixed penalty fine of £50. Repeat offenders could also face prosecution.

If you see someone fail to clean up after their dog, please make a note of the time, the place and their name if you know it. Then report this to the wardens by either calling 01235 520202 or emailing environmental.protection@whitehorsedc.gov.uk