Torridge has 700-plus dog incidents in three years – including 138 involving dangerous dogs

Torridge District Council has dealt with more than 730 incidents involving dogs over the last three years.

Since April 2022, there have been 246 reports of dog fouling, 234 complaints about barking, 138 incidents involving dangerous dogs and 117 concerning stray dogs.

At a council meeting on Monday, May 19, public health and community safety officer Phil Gilbert said that his staff had been dealing with a lot of issues since the first dog control orders came in in 2013 and it “created a lot of work for the team.”

Three years ago, a new public space protection order (PSPO) for dog controls came into force, which makes it an offence to not pick up after a dog on any open land in the district, failing to put dogs on leads in certain places or take dogs to a place where they are banned.

A breach can result in a fixed penalty notice of £100. Alternatively a fine of up to £1,000 can be imposed by a court.

Mr Gilbert said the order is aimed at stopping dog fouling which is “a persistent and continuing issue” with around 85 incidents reported per year.

Councillors approved the renewal of the PSPO for another three years after hearing there had only been two responses to the public consultation.

The PSPO includes the requirement for dogs to be kept on leads in Victoria Park, Bideford and Westward Ho! Park all year and Westward Ho! promenade from May to September.

Dogs are excluded from designated areas of Westward Ho! beach from May to September, the tennis court and sports area of Westward Ho! Park all year and all enclosed children’s play areas.

There are special exemptions for people with registered disabilities who rely on dogs for assistance and an annual hunt is also exempt.

Mr Gilbert said it was important that dogs are not allowed on the beach in the summer as Westward Ho! has been a Blue Flag beach for 22 years.

This year it also won a Seaside Award and was one of only 55 areas across Britain to achieve both accolades, aimed at improving the quality of England’s coastline and promoting the country’s best beaches.

Cllr Annie Brenton was surprised the hunt was exempt as she had encountered packs of hounds “wildly out of control” in the countryside.

Mr Gilbert said there are more effective ways of dealing with such an organised activity.